


Sound of Water Change Your Mind

by AngularNotions



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Blow Jobs, Falling In Love, First Time, Hurt/Comfort, Lonely Tony Stark, M/M, Masturbation, Mutual Masturbation, Protective May Parker (Spider-Man), Rimming, illegal relationship, there is no cheating in this fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:21:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 35
Words: 170,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22287796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngularNotions/pseuds/AngularNotions
Summary: Tony only wanted to keep Peter safe, to watch over him, but when he started to see him in a whole new way, he discovered Peter might be the answer he needed to every question he had ever had.
Relationships: Peter Parker/Tony Stark
Comments: 235
Kudos: 663
Collections: Starker Fics by Egg





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work is completely finished but is in end editing phase currently, so chapters will be posted fairly regularly as I finish cleaning them up (with the help of a wonderful beta reader).  
> This is about 50% canon, I refuse to let Tony die, so I rewrote Infinity Wars and how that played out, don't hate me.  
> This is a slow burn fic, though it isn't a slow burn relationship.  
> I'm not good at the whole science/technical stuff, so forgive me.  
> I freaking stink at Summaries, like absolutely can't write them to save my damn life, I'm sorry.  
> Just as an added note, I LOVE when people are able to create any visuals to go with my fics, so moodboards or manips are very much welcomed and will be included and duly credited for their wonderfulness!!  
> I will likely keep editing these notes at various points.

Look, Tony had solid reasons for installing that camera. The kid was a menace to himself, and while he had handled the whole Vulture situation, he hadn’t come out of it unscathed and that didn’t mean he wouldn’t get himself into more trouble in the future. Especially since he had turned down Tony’s offer to join the Avengers and was therefore not being supervised.

  
So Tony decided to do his own supervision, without Peter’s knowledge, because if Peter knew, well he might hide things or change his behavior. He had proven a willingness to be nefarious when he pulled the tracker out of his suit after all.

  
Installing the tiny camera had been simple and his bedroom seemed an obvious choice since he still seemed insistent on May not knowing about his Spiderman adventures. He managed to convince his Aunt that he didn’t need the bunkbeds anymore about a week after Tony had put the camera in and it caused the older man a bit of concern that the device would be found while the bed was being moved, but alas, no one had spotted it and now his view of the room included a new single bed right in the centre of his screen.

  
For the first few days, it was as boring as hell watching the kid. Yeah he still went out and did his friendly neighborhood Spiderman routine and Tony kept a peripheral eye on him when he did that but instead of interesting plans or skulduggery, all he got of Peter at home was him sitting on his bed doing homework or him building complicated Lego sculptures with his buddy Ned.

  
Ned who inexplicably was able to talk even more and faster than Peter could. Tony hadn’t thought it possible but within a day he started to mute the sound on the video when he saw the kid come into the room.

  
He found having the video on weirdly soothing though, despite its lack of interesting content and would put it on while working in his lab alone. The new Avengers compound had everything he could ever want, except people he wanted around. Pepper and Happy were always busy it seemed and with the mess that had come of the fight with Steve, Tony had been gently relegated to research and development work instead of administration. He didn’t mind, he was always happier working with his hands than shaking hands.

  
So for two solid weeks after installing the camera, Tony would put the feed on while he was in the lab tinkering around with some vague idea or project or whatever.  
He hadn’t expected Peter to be so boring, but figures he should have. The kid was 16, he was hardly going to be doing crazy shit like bringing porn stars home or stumbling in drunk, though Tony remembers doing those things himself at that age. But Pete was a good kid, got good grades and worked hard at them while being a polite and attentive nephew to his Aunt who he clearly adored.

  
It’s a Saturday night when it finally stops being boring.

  
Tony had been working in the lab for a while, the feed from Peter’s bedroom on mute most of that time due to Ned being there talking a mile a minute. The two of them appeared to have been diligently working on building a replica death star for most of the day but Tony doesn’t even notice when Ned leaves or how late it’s getting until he glances up at the screen several hours later and notices that Peter is in bed sleeping.

  
Then he spots some movement and realizes he’s not sleeping.

  
Glancing at the clock, he barely notes the after midnight hour before tapping the volume button on the screen to get the sound back and his ears are immediately filled with the sound of Peter panting softly, slightly erratically, in a very tell tale way. He’s on his back on the bed, chin tilted up as his head presses into his pillow and the movement of his hand under the blanket makes it pretty obvious what he’s doing.

  
Tony immediately fills with embarrassment, knowing that he shouldn't be watching this because Peter didn’t even know he was being watched and it was just wrong. His hand shoots out to turn the screen off, give Pete privacy but then Peter moans softly, legs shifting as his hand picks up speed and Tony’s hand stops in midair, eyes transfixed as he watches. Peter moans again, back now arching slightly as he gasps a few times, hips jolting as he reaches his climax. His body keeps moving lithely as he comes down from it, one hand reaching for tissues to clean up with and Tony wishes the blankets weren’t covering him, so he could have watched it all happen properly. His mouth is dry and he’s half hard in his pants and feeling all kinds of guilty but doesn’t really care either. It’s not like Pete knew right?

  
He spends the rest of the next day weighed down with the guilt but also feeling weirdly anticipatory. He finds himself drawn even more to watching the feed, especially at night and goes to some lengths to isolate a small room that he claims he wants for more delicate work involving lasers and whatever else he can feasibly get others to believe will require a windowless room. He sets it up comfortably with a much larger screen with the feed on it, a leather chair, a bar of course and a few tools on a table to make it believable. He’s disappointed the next night when Peter doesn’t jerk off again, which frankly, is also a surprise. He’s 16 after all, one would think he’d be touching himself constantly but it seemed the kid had far more restraint than Tony. Something that was already clear in the fact that Tony knew exactly how wrong what he was doing was, but here he was, still doing it.

  
The daytime events of Peter’s life remain the same for the next few days. He gets up early, goes to school, comes home, does some Spiderman crime solving, does his homework, eats dinner with his Aunt (out a lot, it seemed the woman hadn’t improved her cooking since that walnut date loaf) and then went to bed in sensible pajamas. In some ways, Peter’s restraint was kinda understandable due to his close living proximity to his Aunt in their small shared apartment with what appeared to be thin walls. But he was a teenager, being horny just went along with that and being quiet about it didn’t seem too difficult. At least Tony didn’t think so. But then again, he seemed far more invested in Peter’s masturbation habits than Peter was. There was the obvious possibility that Peter was getting off in the shower most of the time too, since it seemed some of them lasted a little longer than others.

  
By the end of the week, Tony had almost given up on it happening again. He’s tired from staying awake so late so many nights watching and when Peter goes out with Ned to the movies on Friday, he gives up and goes to bed himself. Except he can’t sleep. Not even after he and Pepper have a very satisfying fuck. He feels like he’s back to the time when he couldn’t sleep due to his PTSD. He gives up trying by 1 in the morning, telling himself he just needs to check and make sure Peter made it home safely. That’s all it is, that was the point of the camera after all, to keep an eye on Peter and keep him safe.

  
He slips down to his new lab room, closing and locking the door behind himself because while it was bad enough he was watching Peter, it would be especially bad if anyone else walked in and saw everything.

  
The screen flicks on at his command and the bedroom is dark, the bed still neatly made and a tiny prickle of worry goes through Tony’s chest. What if something had happened? He quickly flicks to the feed from the Spider suit to see if Peter is wearing it but its black, the suit neatly folded up in its hiding spot in his closet. Going back to the bedroom feed, he turns the sound up as far as it will go and strains to hear if May is home or if he can hear Peter’s voice and he hears some soft noises, canned laughter and applause that he assumes is the television. Someone is home but he can’t tell if it’s May or Peter.

  
With no other choice, he sits back to watch and wait. He debates on texting Peter to find out where he is but decides against it. Maybe he and Ned just went to a late showing or something. He starts pulling up the local theaters and their movie listings when he hears the faint sound of the front door opening and Peter’s voice as he greets his Aunt. They talk quietly for a few minutes and Tony catches snippets of her asking how it was and if he had fun and Peter answering an affirmative to that before telling her he’s tired and he's heading to bed. His footsteps get louder as he comes towards the room and Tony feels a strong sense of relief when he becomes visible. Peter just moves around the room without even knowing he’s being watched. He closes the door and strips his plaid shirt and t-shirt off, tossing them haphazardly towards his hamper before undoing his pants and sliding them down his legs, kicking his shoes off with little concern at where they land. Tony leans in to watch him strip without even realizing it, tongue darting out to wet his lips.

  
Down to his boxers Peter grabs his pajama shirt and pulls it over his head, making his hair a mess and he heads towards his bed, pulling the blankets down and sliding under them and settling in against the pillow before turning the lamp off. The night vision sensor kicks in on the camera and the screen changes to variations of green and black, making Peter still visible as a long lump under the blankets. He’s still for a few minutes, eyes closed, trying to fall asleep but clearly having trouble before his eyes open again and he turns his head towards the door, seeming to listen for a few minutes. The TV can still be heard, though much quieter now, but Peter waits anyway, staring at the door unsure. When nothing seems to be changing outside his door he rolls onto his back and slides his hand under his blankets towards his centre and Tony’s belly fills with anticipatory heat. He really hopes Peter loses the blankets this time so he can watch, see his cock and how he touches himself. But when he starts under the blankets again it appears that won’t be happening. The covers rustle slightly as he sets up a rhythm, he glances towards the door a few times, clearly afraid of getting caught and Tony understands why he keeps the blankets in place but is still disappointed.

  
He still finds himself enthralled with watching Peter’s face though as he gets more into it, body responding as his legs stretch out, hips jumping with increasing frequency and his breathing becoming desperate gasps and panting. Tony’s own recently spent cock starts filling again, tenting out his own pajama pants and with one quick glance to make sure the lab door is locked, he quickly pushes them down and wraps his hand around himself. He sets up the same rhythm Peter is using and his own panting breaths intermingle with Peter’s in the room as he gets closer. Peter’s knees lift slightly, his hips jolting up as he starts fucking into his hand and Tony almost growls at not being able to properly see it but props his own feet up on the edge of shelf below the screen so he can copy the movement.

  
It’s only a few thrusts before Peter’s free hand shoots out to grab a couple of tissues that he quickly gets in place under the covers just in time before he comes. His head tips all the way back at first, a long breathy gasp coming from his exposed throat before he looks back down to his own cock, only visible to himself under the blankets, hand still moving more slowly to pull every part of his orgasm out. Tony comes only a minute later, the mess landing on his stomach as he quickly pulls his shirt out of the way. Their heavy breathing is the only sound in the room for a minute before Peter starts rustling as he finishes cleaning himself up and disposes of the tissues in the trash. He adjusts his boxers under the covers and settles back against the pillows again, yawning widely as he finally starts to fall asleep.

  
Tony grabs the napkins he left on the desk earlier when he was eating in the lab and cleans himself up before pulling his pants up and flops back against the chair feeling more sated than he had when he had fucked Pepper. He doesn’t dwell on that, doesn’t want to.

  
Instead he watches Peter sleep, the sight so serene and calming that he can’t look away. Using the zoom option he closes in on Peter’s face, the youthfulness more pronounced in sleep and that same old guilt comes creeping back in. Peter is only 16, a kid, Tony should absolutely not be thinking of him like this, be watching him and most definitely shouldn’t be getting off to watching Peter jerk off. He shouldn’t want more, he shouldn’t want to see Peter’s body while he touches himself or want to be the one touching Peter.

  
He knows all of this, but somehow also knows he’s not gonna stop. He can’t. He’s in too deep now.

  
He tries though, he does try. He spends more time out in the main lab trying to work rather than watching. He forces himself to focus more on Pepper at night, resisting the overwhelming urge to go down and watch Peter to see if he’s masturbating again.

  
It lasts for about 4 days before he breaks. And then he’s back, hand wrapped around himself while he watches Peter move and writhe on his bed. Over the next few weeks, it rapidly becomes a habit, an overwhelming one in less than two months and Pepper starts to complain about him leaving the bed every night but he can’t stop, though he keeps trying.

  
He manages a three day break but then on the fourth day, in the middle of the afternoon he finds himself bored, with no real project to work on, no one is around for him to talk to and it makes him feel restless. At around 3 he caves again, deciding to at least check on Peter. It was the afternoon, this should be a safe time to look in on him after all.

  
The kid is just getting home from school when he turns the screen on and is in the middle of talking to his Aunt.

  
“I’ll be fine May, stop worrying, this isn’t the first time you’ve worked nights.” He’s saying gently, head turned towards the door as he sits down on his bed, depositing his backpack next to his leg.

  
“I know it’s not the first time, but I worry, I have to, it’s my job,” May says with a smile on her face as she comes into the room, her uniform on and hair tied back. “I’ll be home around 6 in the morning, I’ve made a lasagna, it’s in the fridge, just heat it up when you want dinner and make sure you get your homework done.”

  
Peter visibly fights the urge to roll his eyes and nods.

  
“I know, I will, I’ll be fine, have a good shift,” he replies, though it isn’t dismissive.

  
“Ok, thanks, I’ll try,” she laughs before leaning forward to kiss Peter’s forehead. “Love you.”

  
“Love you too,” Peter smiles up at her and she gives his hair a quick ruffle before turning and heading out the door.

  
Peter starts pulling his books out of his bag and putting them on his bed while he watches through his bedroom door as May leaves, the sound of the front door closing a few moments later echoing down the hall and he breathes out with a whoosh. Immediately he leaps off of the bed with stunning agility and heads to his closet and Tony knows Spiderman is heading out on the town and part of him wishes that Peter wouldn’t. That he would just stay home, do his homework and eat lasagna and stay safe, but he knows that’s ridiculous. Peter had proven his ability to do his job as Spiderman and it was good work he was doing. A lot of people had been helped by the kid and Tony didn’t want him to stop doing that.

  
Peter quickly strips down to his boxers again and pulls the suit on, slapping the spider symbol in the centre to get it to shrink to his frame. Pulling the mask on he heads to the window and slips out onto the fire escape and is off down the block in seconds.

  
Tony quickly switches his view to the suit so he can keep an eye on him in a more serious way and Peter whoops loudly in glee as he swings between the buildings and the older man can’t help but smile at his exuberance. It reminds him of when he first made the Iron Man suit when he got home from Afghanistan. That feeling of freedom and power that it gave him. He can’t help but imagine that it’s the same for Peter.

  
The mission is slow, only a few minor crimes to work and solve but Peter takes care of them handedly and makes his way home just after 8. He slides back through his window and carefully takes the suit off before wandering out to the kitchen in just his boxers, a faint gleam of sweat on his skin. Tony can only listen as Peter goes about heating up his dinner, the TV coming on and dishes being moved. He takes the opportunity to fix himself a drink, mind coming up with ways that he could get a few more cameras into the Parker’s apartment. One in the kitchen, maybe one in the living room. One in the bathroom, the shower particularly Tony thinks to himself with a smirk as he sips his drink and sits back in his chair.

  
Peter is out of the room for a few hours. Eventually Tony hears the shower turn on and he can’t help but think a little more seriously about putting a camera in there. In all the time he’d been watching Peter, he’d yet to see him naked. The kid seemed determined to keep covered all the time. Once again, Tony assumes it’s because he lives with his Aunt and it was clear May didn’t really get the concept of boundaries. But still, the closest Peter had gotten to nude in his bedroom was his boxers, which were rather shapeless baggy things.

  
So it is a very happy surprise for Tony when Peter comes back into his bedroom after his shower with just a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair is wet, the natural curl standing out more and his skin is shiny with the remaining water. Tony’s eyes follow a few rivulets as they snake their way down Peter’s toned chest while he stands beside his bed checking his phone. Once satisfied with having read his messages, Peter heads over to the window and checks that it’s locked before closing the curtains, something he’s never done before, and then he heads over to the door and shuts it tight as well. Taking a deep breath, a soft laugh at the end of it, he drops the towel and flops down on his bed on his back with his legs splayed out and Tony’s nose slams into the screen as he goes in for a closer look.

  
Finally, he thinks to himself, backing up again and toggling the zoom, which was much smarter than just pressing his face to the screen. His eyes drink in Peter’s languid nude form, particularly his actually quite impressively large dick. While Tony has seen Peter’s muscular legs and abs before, this was a new view and he’s quite beautiful, like a Greek sculpture, but better endowed.

  
Peter picks up his phone again, finger working quickly as he taps at a few things, teeth working his bottom lip and it only takes a second for Tony to realize he’s looking up porn. Apparently all of Tony’s Christmas’s are coming at once because not only is he finally seeking Pete naked, he’s gonna get to see him jerk off, with the lights on no less. He feels almost giddy and he’s half hard before Peter has even touched himself yet.

  
Peter continues to tap at his phone for a few minutes longer, brows scrunched in concentration before his eyes widen and his mouth opens, a small smirk pulling his lips up. A few sounds fill the room and Tony knows he’s got porn up on the screen and he can’t help but laugh. A part of him wants to know what he’s watching, what gets Peter off but he also finds he’s not that concerned about it, he just wants to watch Peter get off, period.

  
Eyes still trained on the screen, Peter’s free hand slides down his chest and stomach to his hardening cock and Tony watches enthralled as he wraps his long fingers around it, sliding them up and down it slowly.

  
Tony doesn’t dare touch himself yet, he’s far too into watching and doesn’t want to come himself before Peter and right now he feels like if he even put a finger on his dick he’d be done he’s that turned on.

  
Instead he settles back in his chair, zooming in a little closer on Peter’s hand working his own dick and spreads his legs to ease the pressure on his balls. His pants have a very prominent and crude tent in them but he digs his fingers into the arms of the chair to keep from giving in.

  
On screen, Peter comes to full hardness in his hand, his breathing picking up speed and his thigh muscles tighten as his body starts to jolt slightly with the sensations. The sounds from the phone are downright vulgar but Peter doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to it anymore, his eyes close instead as his head flops back, hand moving a little faster, twisting just slightly making him moan louder than Tony has ever heard him do before.

  
Hissing through his teeth, Peter opens his eyes after a few minutes and bends his legs to balance on his heels as he starts thrusting into his hand, watching his own cock as it slides in the circle of his fingers. Tony’s own hips start to move slightly, as though in sympathy and the dampness from his pre-cum feels cold as it slides across the tip of his cock against his pants.

  
Moaning louder and with each thrust Peter’s movements get more erratic and Tony knows he’s getting closer. Whispering the word fuck he wraps a hand around his own still covered erection to relieve just a tiny bit of pressure, and he has to let go almost immediately as he feels himself get right to edge. He still wants to watch Peter come first before he gives himself his own release.

  
Peter starts crying out more loudly, head thrown back as he almost brutally punches his hips up, his hand and cock wet with pre-cum before his whole body tenses and he yells as white spurts of come go into the air and across his stomach.

  
Tony can’t even breath as he watches, but it’s not just the sight that makes him come in his own pants, cock barely even touched, it’s what comes out of Peter’s mouth that pushes him over the edge.

  
“Tony! Oh fuck, Tony, oh my God…” Peter yells out, getting breathy at the end.

  
Tony.

  
Peter had yelled his name as he climaxed and suddenly the older man has a good idea of exactly what or more succinctly, who Peter was fantasizing about when he jerked off.

  
“Holy shit,” Tony breathes out, his pants soaked and heart racing.

  
Peter wanted him, thought about him that way. Tony feels almost jubilant. It was mutual.

  
But then he comes crashing back to earth again.

  
Peter is only 16, it can’t happen, it shouldn’t happen.

  
“Fuck,” he whispers with a sigh.


	2. Chapter 2

Somehow, in the span of the hours of the night, Tony had convinced himself that what Peter didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt him, and if he wasn’t going to act on it, then there wasn’t really a reason he couldn’t watch, right?

Right.

The alcohol he had been drinking had nothing to do with this thinking at all, that was his story and he was sticking to it.

He does re-watch the recording several times throughout the night, giving in and jerking off every time and he has the same thought every time they are both done. What was Peter thinking about when he said Tony’s name? Clearly he was fantasizing about the older man, but in what way? Was Tony fucking Peter in his fantasy? Was it a blow job? Hand job? He couldn’t tell and it frustrated him as he watched Peter sheepishly clean up, get dressed and delete his phone history before going to bed. Why couldn’t he say more? Give a hint? It seemed only fair.

  
To say this becomes Tony’s new obsession would be putting it mildly. And if his nighttime forays down to the lab hadn’t already caused some strain in his relationship with Pepper, things really hit a critical point now. Frustrated with his behavior and his very vocal unwillingness to change, she gives up and moves back to New York City to run the business.

  
This turn of events does give him some pause for thought. He had been so tied up with Peter, so completely focused on their new relationship of sorts (that Peter wasn’t even aware of) that he had fallen down some sort of rabbit hole and lost sight of the rest of the world.

  
He decides that boredom is the reason, he’s been relegated to a mechanic again and with the Avengers not exactly in high demand, he had little to occupy his mind. Sure he could keep tinkering with his suits, or come up with other bits of equipment that would amuse him for about twenty minutes but he missed the rush of a real adventure now that he had tasted it.

  
Tasted it with Peter at his side the last time. In that tight little red suit.

  
The kid had a magnificent ass, Tony had to admit. It was a thing of beauty to behold. Peter should show it off more in Tony’s opinion.

  
He considers calling Steve, or calling Natasha, who was off doing who knows what and he decides he misses Bruce. That leads him to wonder once again where the eccentric doctor had even got off to. They hadn’t heard from him since Sokovia and Tony is pretty sure that’s what Natasha is actually doing, looking for Bruce.

  
All possible distractions from his boredom considered, Tony returns to Peter within a few days. He tries to take a break from watching Call Me By Your Name (yes, he nicknamed the video, he had to) because frankly it was getting a little much how often he was jacking off to it. Instead he goes back to watching Peter on a live feed and Peter goes back to living his mostly boring life.

  
Much to Tony’s disappointment.

  
Ned continues to visit and talk a blue streak, Lego’s continue to be assembled in complicated ways, movies are watched, May continues to be a terrible cook and Peter continues jerking off under his blankets once or twice a week.

  
Tony finds himself desperate to hear the words ‘night shift’ or he’s gonna lose his damn mind.

  
As he sinks back down into the rabbit hole again, despite Happy’s attempts to pull him free, Tony decides to do the only reasonable thing he can think of, he invites Peter to the compound for the weekend.

  
The whiskey tells him it’s a spectacular idea because rather than watching Peter on a screen, he can watch him in real life.

  
Sobriety the next day reveals an awkward text conversation in which Peter eagerly agrees, forever fascinated with the Avengers as he was despite smartly turning down the offer to join when he was still so young. Tony vacillates between cancelling, which would break Peter’s heart, putting a camera in Peter’s room for the hell of it, or figuring out a way to get through this without something potentially awkward happening.

  
Peter arrives late Friday, bouncing on his toes slightly, backpack on his shoulders and big grin on his face. No matter how much shit this kid had seen in such a short time, his ability to be enthusiastic and happy about life was actually quite endearing to Tony. And seeing him like this, baggy jeans, plaid shirt and t-shirt and scuffed running shoes, looking every bit a teenager was actually very grounding. He feels guilty for what he’s done but starts to think this was actually a good idea to remind him that Peter is a person, one that looks up to him very much and the last thing Tony wants to do is fuck that up, or fuck Peter up for that matter, even though he had just last night been thinking a lot about fucking Peter in general.

  
He was a good kid, Tony wanted him to stay that way.

  
“Thank you for inviting me Mr. Stark,” Peter chirps out as soon as his eyes land on Tony.

  
Those big, brown, soulful as ever eyes that made Tony’s knees a little wobbly.

  
“You’re welcome kid, thought you could use some time in the lab and maybe get to know where you could be in a few years if you want,” Tony replies, noting the way Peter winces slightly at the use of the word ‘kid’. He’d heard Peter complain about that to Ned, declaring that he wasn’t a kid anymore and didn’t want to be called one. Ned had bluntly pointed out that Peter was still a kid. Tony isn’t sure if he should stop or not frankly. On the one hand, he wanted to be understanding towards Peter’s feelings, on the other using the moniker was an ongoing reminder to keep his mind from wandering to any fantasies.

  
He leads Peter further into the compound, showing him his room for the weekend, which could also be his permanently when he chose. Tony had resisted and not put a camera in, deciding that as depraved as he could be, that was just going too damn far.

  
Peter deposits his backpack on the bed and follows on Tony’s heels for the rest of the tour, greeting everyone politely and asking questions in a chipper tone. When they get to the lab he goes silent in awe, his mouth dropping open in wonder as he takes in all of the equipment and tools and computers everywhere. Tony knew how much Peter wanted to go to MIT now, though he hadn’t had as much interest in college before. But it seemed he now wanted to follow in his hero’s footsteps and had been working hard to make it happen. Getting the chance to work in a state-of-the-art lab like this was a great way to prepare him and even more reason to invite Peter back for more weekend trips. Tony likes the idea of the distraction, that’s what he was looking for after all. Though he had been looking for a distraction from Peter, but perhaps Peter was in fact the distraction he needed, the real Peter, not on-screen porn star Peter.

  
They order dinner in and Tony takes the chance to ask him about school and how things were going with his Spiderman adventures (as if he didn’t already know). It’s nice. It’s comfortable. It’s not dirty and that’s what he needs.

  
After dinner they watch a movie on the giant screen in the theatre room, another jaw dropping awe moment for Peter. Tony says nothing when Peter plops down next to him on the two seat sofa, despite there being plenty of other seats. He says nothing when Peter’s arm brushes his as he reaches for popcorn or when his knee bumps Tony’s as he laughs at something on the screen. He drinks soda, not whiskey, keeps his hands to himself and keeps calling Peter ‘kid’ in his mind the entire night, thinking that he’s finally done it and overcome his obsession.

  
Until they go to bed.

  
He bids Peter a goodnight at his door and then makes a show of heading towards his own quarters where he changes and brushes his teeth and pulls the covers down. All things to make sure that everyone else was asleep or gone home for the night and then he creeps down to his special viewing room and within seconds is watching the Call Me By Your Name footage and jerking it like there’s no tomorrow.

  
It’s futile.

  
He could spend all day with Peter, reminding himself that he’s only 16, that he’s a kid but Peter was just damned and determined to make him forget that with his soulful doe eyes, inquisitive intelligent mind and killer body. It was actually very easy to forget how old he was because the kid was wise beyond his years. Tragedy has a tendency to do that to people and Tony felt a strange connection with Peter because of that. They’d both lost their parents, lost people they loved in tragic circumstances and Tony knew all too well how much that can mature a person, change who they are fundamentally.

  
If anything, this weekend had the real potential of making Tony’s situation worse because now he was starting to feel things for Peter. It was going beyond amusement and lust now. And Tony doesn’t sleep at all as his mind goes over it. More than once he regrets not putting a camera into Peter’s room because he has a strange, strong desire to just watch him sleep. To see him at peace.

  
If he happened to be doing something else, that would be great too, though it would be extremely difficult for Tony to resist going and joining him if that were the case.  
The next morning Peter is none the wiser to any of the traffic in Tony’s head and after breakfast eagerly dives into playing with the tools in the lab. Tony just sits back and watches, nursing an exhaustion headache and a large coffee and smiling softly at Peter’s jubilance.

  
It doesn’t take long before Peter notices the door leading to the small viewing room and he’s up and heading towards it before Tony can even register the movement. Once he does he’s up and moving faster than he has without the suit in years.

  
“What’s this room, oh hey do you have that laser you were talking about in here? Can I try it, I have an idea for my physics project at school and could totally use the chance to test it out,” Peter rattles off as he heads towards the door before he comes up short in surprise as Tony lands in front of it breathing hard from the exertion.

  
“Uh, no, that’s somewhere else, I’ll take you to it, just down the hall if you’ll follow me,” he rambles out, indicating towards the exit with his hand and Peter’s brows scrunch up in confusion.

  
“What’s in there?” He asks pointedly, ever the curious one.

  
“Nothing Pete, just storage and old files and stuff, it’s a mess really since Pepper isn’t here to make me clean it up, you don’t need to see it honestly,” Tony tries to explain and Peter’s mouth tightens, it’s clear he’s not buying it but he doesn’t press either, just turns and heads the direction Tony was indicating. He turns back and glances at the door to the small room twice before they leave and Tony senses that Peter isn’t going to forget about that room.

  
He manages to distract him with the laser though for a few hours. Tony is impressed with his idea and helps him put it together so he can write it up for his report. It’s dinner time by the time they’re done and Tony offers to take him into town for something to eat. He knows of a few good places nearby and feels a little like he needs to get out of the compound for an hour at least. Really he needs some breathing room from Peter, but that isn’t the kid’s fault.

  
The little Italian joint seems a good choice until Peter starts slurping his spaghetti in a rather sinful way and then Tony starts regretting coming out with him.

  
The rest of their night is much the same as the first and ends the same with Tony watching the video with his dick in his hand. He falls asleep after in the chair and wakes several hours later, stiff, feeling dirty and guilty and still tired. He manages to get back to his room before Peter wakes up and showers away any evidence.

  
They tinker around in the lab for a few hours after breakfast before Happy comes to fetch Peter and take him home. The kid looks positively depressed about it but Tony promises that he can come visit any time he wants and that seems to perk him up. He manages to get Tony into a hug before the older man can stop him but he’s not sure he would this time anyway. Instead he savors the opportunity to wrap his arms around the kid, to feel his sturdy frame so close, breath on his neck. When Peter lets go they make eye contact and Tony feels a spark run down his spine, it catches the air in his throat and it takes him a few moments to recover. By then Peter is waving like a fool as he heads to the car, Happy sauntering over to the driver’s door with his sunglasses and serious face on. It makes Tony laugh and he waves back and watches until the car is out of sight, a sense of sadness of his own creeping in. Pete had only been there for two days and already Tony felt like the place wasn’t the same without him.

  
To fill the void he goes to the room and sits down to watch for Peter to get home. He orders a pizza that he takes in with him along with a fresh bottle of whiskey, because clearly he was just going to go right back to his bad habits and kicks his feet up onto the desk as he eats and waits.

  
He’s eaten half the pizza and had a couple of drinks by the time Peter gets home, and his voice is soothing to Tony’s soul. He talks a mile a minute as soon as the front door closes and he can hear May asking him questions as Peter’s footsteps come down the hall. Hearing Peter was great, but seeing him is better. He comes into his bedroom and drops his backpack on his bed, quickly unpacking it and throwing dirty laundry into his hamper at May’s urging before repacking the bag with his books. He’s still talking the entire time, telling her all about the lab and what he and Tony had worked on and how much it was gonna impress his physics teacher. Tony smiles as he watches, he was glad Peter had had such a good time, that nothing awkward had happened and that he still looked up to the older man so much.

  
Tony’s smile turns into a grin when May finally comes into the room. She’s dressed in her uniform, her hair neatly done and that can only mean one thing right? Tony tenses in anticipation. She must be working a night shift, that had to be it. He starts mentally begging for that to be the case.

  
They continue talking about Peter’s weekend and it feels like forever before Peter finally asks her about hers.

  
“Long, it’s been long, we’re short staffed again, remember Linda? The red head from the floor above mine?” May groans out and Peter nods at her question. “Well, she fell down the stairs, twisted her ankle real bad and so now, I get to work her night shift tonight. I’m sorry I’m leaving you right when you get home, are you sure you’ll be alright for dinner? I didn’t get time to make anything,” she asks with worry on her face while Peter looks more than a tad relieved to not have to endure her cooking.

  
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine May, don’t worry, I can handle it, I’ll go to the Bodega down the street and grab something,” he assures her and she nods, though doesn’t look overly satisfied with his idea.

  
“Well make sure you have something healthy, you’re a growing boy,” she points out while reaching forward to smooth his hair down and he bats her hands away.

“I’m 16, not a kid, stop it,” he protests and she laughs.

  
“Nah, you’ll always be little Pete to me,” she adds in a wistful tone before leaning forward to plant a kiss on his cheek. “I’ll be home after 6, don’t stay up late ok, you have school tomorrow.”

  
“I know,” Peter groans out slightly. “Have a good shift, love you.”

  
“Love you too honey.”

  
With that she finally leaves and Tony isn’t sure who is happier about that. As soon as the door is heard closing, Pete is up off the bed and tugging his shoes back on. He stops and looks at the closet and appears to be considering putting his suit on but seems to decide against it, though he promises the closet door that he will go out tomorrow. Rather than using the front door, he just slides out his bedroom window and down the fire escape. Tony wishes he had put the suit on so he could keep track of him, but he figures that Peter didn’t want to walk in and order dinner dressed as Spiderman.

  
Tony goes back to waiting for him to come home again, feeling a bit more anxious this time since he was alone and not with Happy. But he comes back not long after 6, plastic bag with food in it in his hand and he passes by the camera kicking his shoes off haphazardly as he heads out to the living room. The TV comes on and Tony can hear him moving around getting a soda. He feels better knowing Peter is home safe and he relaxes back in his chair, swirling his drink around his glass. He still has an anticipatory flutter in his stomach at what the rest of the night might bring but he also finds that he’s satisfied just knowing Pete is okay.

  
In the meantime he plays around on his phone, checking news updates and messages, deleting emails unread and rolling his eyes at snide updates from Pepper on the company. The whole point of making her CEO was so that Tony wouldn’t have to hear about or deal with any of this shit anymore and yet she still kept insisting on keeping him up to date.

  
When he hears the shower turn on he drops his phone on the desk and refocuses on the screen. He sits waiting with bated breath the entire time and his entire body tenses up when he hears the water shut off. Like last time, Peter comes back into the room in just a towel, flicking the light in the hall off on his way before closing his bedroom door and then checking the window and closing the curtains. The actions almost routine to Tony because he’s watched the first video so many times.

  
Once satisfied, he drops the towel and flops on his bed before looking around for his phone. In his thrashing to find it he manages to knock it off the other side of the bed where it hits the floor with a loud bang. And now Tony knows why the screen is so cracked. He had asked Peter but hadn’t got much of a response.

  
Rolling on to his stomach to reach over the side of the bed, Tony is treated to a spectacular view of his naked ass and damn if it isn’t even better uncovered. His dick responds immediately, all kinds of ideas going through his head on what he could do to that ass.

  
A bit of fumbling and a couple of mumbled curses later, Peter finally retrieves his phone and rolls onto his back, spreading his legs rather invitingly on the bed as he starts tapping on the screen. His brows go into their signature scrunch as he concentrates on the screen, teeth worrying his bottom lip and Tony’s own tongue comes out to wet his as he watches. What he wouldn’t give to be able to crawl between those legs and take him right at that moment.

  
When finally he finds something he finds interesting, Peter’s face relaxes as his eyes widen, watching the screen. It sounds different this time, some woman screeching in fake pleasure with a man generically grunting in the background and Tony seriously considers sitting him down and showing him where to find good porn.

  
But currently, what he’s watching seem to be satisfactory for Peter as his dick visibly starts to harden. He holds off on touching himself right away though, his fingers instead playing with his right nipple as his bottom lip goes back between his teeth. He shuffles after a few moments, sliding further down on the bed and lifting his knees up while spreading his legs further, giving Tony a perfect eyeful of his ass, cock and balls and Tony growls, pressing a hand against his own cock hard to try to slow himself down but the view is almost too much to handle.

  
Peter squirms on the bed when he’s fully hard, cock laying on his abdomen but he seems to be fighting the urge to touch himself to make it go on longer. The video he is watching comes to an end with what sounds like an extremely fake orgasm from the woman and his face scrunches up in concentration again while he looks for something else. His free hand splays out on his stomach, fingers twitching towards his cock but he keeps them just far enough away.

  
A new video starts playing and Tony distinctly hears two male voices this time and his brows shoot up in surprise. But then again, he shouldn’t be that surprised if Peter is fantasizing about him.

  
Peter’s own brows go up and his mouth opens wide as he takes in the scene, as though he’s never seen anything quite like it and Tony desperately wishes he knew what he was watching because he gets the sense the kid is getting ideas to add to his fantasies of what he wants Tony to do to him. Tony definitely feels like it’s unfair to be kept in the dark.

When it finally gets to be too much to resist, the men in the video sounding like they are having a really good time, Peter’s hand makes its way down to his cock finally, wrapping around it and squeezing slightly making him hiss through his teeth and groan. His hips snap up slightly but he resolutely puts his butt back down on the bed and keeps the stroking movements of his hand very slow.

  
Tony doesn’t dare touch himself because like last time he watched this, he knows he will explode far too quickly and he doesn’t want to miss anything.

  
Peter starts to squirm again, his clear desire to start jerking himself off with vigor fighting with his other desire to really drag this out. Eventually, desperate need starts to take over though and his hand picks up speed.

  
But then he stops suddenly, eyes fixated on the screen before they glance down his body and then back to the screen. He looks unsure but a moment later he reaches down between his legs and pokes once at his hole, testing the area and jumping with surprise at the sensation.

  
Tony just sits gaping at the screen in front of him, mouth open and slack and eyes wide, erection completely forgotten as he watches.

  
Peter takes a deep breath and seems to get a little braver, attempting to push one finger in before wincing and pulling it back out with only a few millimeters having made their way in. Tony can’t help but think that he would do a great job of showing him how to do it properly and immediately tries to come up with a way to make that happen but is quickly distracted from that train of thought by Peter deciding to start fucking his fist again.

  
He watches the phone porn for a few moments longer as his hips snap up into his hand but then he just drops it on the bed, free hand now sliding down to rest on his inner thigh as his hips pick up speed and his voice cries out with each thrust. Tony watches completely entranced as his body writhes and moves, the muscles tensing under his skin, cock red in comparison to the pale skin on his fingers. He sees when Peter’s balls tighten, knows how close he is and quickly yanks his own pants down to try to go over the edge with him. Fisting himself he strokes at the same pace as Peter and groans loudly, wanting so badly to be inside of Peter instead of his hand in this stupid little lab room.

  
Peter comes first, painting his stomach in stripes, legs shaking and body jerking with the intensity of it and Tony follows only seconds later, the sound of Peter’s voice screaming his name the final piece needed to give him his own leg shaking orgasm. Peter’s name falls off Tony’s own lips at that moment, a long drawn out sound of desire and need because as amazing as this was, it only made his want for the other that much stronger.

  
When it’s over, the longing becomes even more pronounced and he feels almost depressed as he watches as Peter, alone in his bedroom, cleans himself up and gets dressed. He plugs his phone in to charge and sets his alarm and climbs under the covers before turning the light out. All mundane things with no awareness that someone was watching him, someone who wanted so badly, with every fibre of his being, to crawl into that bed and curl up with him.

  
Tony was well and truly fucked at this point. Well and truly.


	3. Chapter 3

“Are you ok Mr. Stark?” Peter asks him a few days later. Turns out his physics teacher was really impressed with his idea and the research he had done and had given approval for him to use it for his end of year project. Which meant that Tony got a text message asking if a repeat visit was ok the next weekend. Rationality told Tony that was a terrible idea, since his infatuation was only getting stronger, but at the same time, he couldn’t say no. Not because he didn’t want to disappoint Pete or potentially ruin his chances at getting a good final grade.

  
Nope.

  
He just couldn’t physically say no to Peter.

  
He looks up now and finds Peter’s gentle eyes focused on him, filled with concern and still that touch of awe that he always seemed to get whenever he was around his idol.

  
Tony tries to take stock of what he was doing that might have brought about the question and realizes he had been staring a little too intently at the small soldering gun on the table, but it was only because he didn’t want to get caught staring at Peter.

  
“I’m fine Pete, my usual self,” he replies, picking up his green smoothie and taking a sip. He can’t help the small laugh that escapes as Peter’s face turns up slightly in disgust looking at the drink. Tony had been steadily offering him some since he had made it, because it was pretty obvious it grossed the younger man out, and making people uncomfortable was something Tony found joy in. Especially when it was someone as polite at Peter, who unfortunately still couldn’t control his facial expressions. “Also, you can stop calling me Mr. Stark you know, I think we are a bit beyond that now, no?”

  
Peter visibly perks up at that suggestion, eyes widening at being let into the Tony Stark inner circle. But then the concern seems to come back and he gets a little braver in his line of questioning, clearly thinking that if he was part of the Tony squad, he could be a bit more blunt.

  
“Oh, I know, Mister… um, Tony, I mean, you seem fine and stuff, but after what happened in Germany, I mean, you haven’t really gone out much or anything and I know the move was a big deal and a lot of work and you’re probably tired from that, but I mean,” Peter rambles out, stopping to take a breath, eyes wide and earnest, brows pulled together with concern. “Have you talked to Mr. Rogers? What happened that made you two stop being friends?”

  
Tony tenses at the mention of Steve, a spike of fury and betrayal running down his back but he hides it well, choosing to defer with humor before Peter really hit a raw nerve.

  
“He stole my sweater so I had to kick him out of my neighborhood,” he quips and Peter looks unamused. Tony’s actually impressed he got the reference.

  
“So you’re saying it was his fault?” Peter presses and Tony nods, trying to stare Peter down to get him to shut up. It doesn’t work. “Any chance you were the one in the wrong?”

That was bold of him. A little too bold. A little too on the nose. Peter was perceptive, too much for his own good if Tony were honest.

  
Tony immediately deflects in the only way he knows how, a compulsive defense mechanism that he’s honed and perfected and is probably the last thing he should do right now, but he does it anyway.

  
He starts flirting.

  
Plopping his chin on his hand and giving Peter doe eyes he goes a little pouty before replying.

  
“Of course not, who would be mad at me?” He says coyly and Peter turns his face but side eyes him. He takes the hint though and stops asking, returning to his task of soldering the length of wire to the coil he was working on.

  
Really, this should have been the end of Tony’s flirting as well. It seemed to have done the trick to deflect the conversation and they were back to working amicably but somehow, like a tap that’s been turned on, Tony can’t turn it off. He continues to throw little flirtatious comments Peter’s way, and finds ways to touch him a bit more as the afternoon goes on, from soft brushes of his hand on Peter’s arm to full on pressing his chest to Peter’s back as he leans over him to show him how to use a particular tool.

  
The thing is, while Peter does seem to be enjoying the physical contact, leaning in to it a little at times, he doesn’t seem to be picking up on the fact that it’s flirting. But that makes sense, maybe this is the first time he’s been flirted with. Either way, Tony rationally knows he needs to stop because it would be best if Peter never did figure it out, but that tap just keeps on running.

  
They watch a movie again that night in the theatre room and like the last time, Peter plops down on the couch right next to Tony, who responds by putting a hand on Peter’s knee for probably a few minutes too long. It’s only when Peter turns to stare at him, eyes wide and a little surprised that Tony finally gets a grip and pulls his hand away. He was going too far, he needed to at the very least respect Peter’s personal space and feelings and even though he was aware that Peter clearly had a bit of a crush on him (and fantasized about him), Peter didn’t know he knew that. Peter could never know about what Tony had seen, or about the camera at all frankly. He knew Peter would probably never forgive him.

  
Knowing that doesn’t stop him from visiting his favorite room after Peter’s gone to bed to rewatch the sequel to Call Me By Your Name though. Twice.

  
At Tony’s suggestion, they had decided to hit the gym together the next morning. Peter had mentioned his frustration at not being able to really work out or test his limits without drawing attention to himself at school, so Tony offers to spar with him in the boxing ring. In Tony’s mind, Peter was smaller than him, younger and untrained, it shouldn’t be a big deal to go a few rounds. He forgets entirely that Peter is enhanced and about as strong as Steve and it only takes one quick jab to knock the older man flat on the mat. He assures Peter he’s fine, that his pride is hurt more than anything and he laughs it off, but it’s a good reminder that Peter is not an average teenager.

  
Peter does take it easier on him the rest of the time, instead taking the opportunity to learn about boxing from Tony, who defaults back to his defense mechanism and starts getting handsy again. The biggest problem with his flirting is how much more he wants every time he touches Peter. And judging by Peter’s expressions and reactions, he wants more too. It’s terrifically dangerous territory and there is almost a sense of relief when it’s time to go shower separately and have breakfast before working in the lab again.

  
As dances go, this is the most complicated one Tony has ever done. His rational mind is constantly there, yelling in a voice not unlike his father’s that he absolutely cannot pursue this, that he needs to end it, delete the videos and get Peter back to arm’s length. But the opposite side of this is his desire, his affection for Peter that whispers that the age of consent in New York state is 17, that Peter isn’t your average teenager, he’s more like a 30 year old trapped in a teenager’s body and they probably understand each other better than anyone who doesn't know what it’s like to be a superhero.

  
When Peter leaves with Happy, Tony feels despondent. He knew the reality, had known it all along but had willfully gone along with things, let them progress just to make himself selfishly happy, to forget his own misery and fucked up life. There was only so much flirting and drinking one could do before they had to sit their ass down and re-evaluate.

  
So he begins yet another attempt at quitting Peter cold turkey. It lasts 24 hours. Until Peter texts him the next day, begging for just one more weekend to work on the project so he could get some video of his invention working to use as part of the writeup and Tony cracks. He rationalizes it by saying that it was for his schoolwork, for his grades and Tony’s own issues shouldn’t come in the way of that but frankly he just really wants to see Peter again. Watching him was starting to feel a little like it wasn’t enough.

  
Not that that stopped him from watching him every day. May doesn’t work any night shifts, which is disappointing but Tony can’t help but notice a few changes in Peter. Namely, he doesn’t get as detailed when talking about his weekend at the compound. Last time he had been a complete chatterbox about it, telling May and Ned every detail, but this time he edits things out, keeping his descriptions more vague. Tony isn’t entirely sure why that is, whether it was his excessive flirting or that Peter just honestly doesn’t want to bore people with it all but he never provides an explanation. He does liberally use Tony’s name though. His glee at being able to drop the formal moniker very evident and Tony is more than happy to hear him say his name. It’s a nice reminder of when Peter says it when he’s coming.

  
Something he starts doing even when he’s jerking off under the blankets when May is home. Tony is a little surprised the first time it happens, it’s quiet, whispered so he’s not heard but still clear enough that it can’t be mistaken. Tony loves it. Probably way too much.

  
And clearly Peter is more than happy to indulge as he goes to town on himself every single night during the week. He almost gets caught once, managing to roll on his stomach and pretend to be asleep in the nick of time. But it doesn’t seem to deter him and he's full of energy Friday morning, already packing his bag before going to school.

  
Happy picks him up after school and drives him up to the compound. Tony has Thai food already there and he does his best to keep the conversation proper and his hands to himself but this time it’s Peter leaning in towards him a little more, eyes finding Tony’s every chance they get and Tony knows he only has himself to blame. He had basically encouraged Peter’s infatuation with him, had flirted relentlessly and this was the obvious result.

  
After dinner Peter suggests they watch the Fifth Element, and they settle on the couch side by side once again, shoulders together as Peter leans in.

  
It feels a little like sitting on the edge of a cliff. Either he can jump or he can walk away. The choice is his, and there are consequences both ways. He knows he wants Peter. He knows Peter wants him, though he’s still not fully comprehending the depth of that since they haven’t talked about it. But it’s clear Peter idolizes him, is sexually attracted to him and enjoys Tony’s company. But Peter has never been in a relationship before. Hell, Tony isn’t even sure if the kid has ever kissed anyone. Fantasizing, having a crush was one thing. Acting on it, actually having it come true was an entirely different thing. It could have lasting consequences for Peter for the rest of his life. Tony isn’t sure he wants to be responsible for fucking the kid up.

  
At the same time, he can’t be sure he would. There is this strange sense in his gut that somehow Peter is good for him, could make him a better person where no one else has been able to before.

  
While Peter watches the movie, Tony finds himself studying Peter’s profile. The way the blue light from the screen ignites his eyelashes, making his eyes sparkle. How his mouth quirks up in a smirk or how his lips spread when he smiles. His left brow and it’s strange but very appealing swoop up and his angular jawline. His collarbone peeking out every once in a while from his oversized t-shirt. The soft waves and curls in his hair, the color coppery in the light. Every thought in his head dissipates as he stares and categorizes every thing he sees in his memory because he doesn’t want to forget.

  
Inevitably Peter senses that he’s being stared at, likely some part of his heightened senses that he had told Tony about and he turns to look at the older man with a questioning look on his face. Tony should have known what would happen next, predicted it with all of his worldly experience but it still takes him by surprise when Peter moves forward suddenly and presses his lips to Tony’s. It’s soft, inexperienced and unsure but it still happens and Tony feels like he’s now standing on the lip of that cliff in a gale force wind.

  
This is the tipping point and he has mere seconds to decide. Peter stares at him wide eyed he moves back, waiting as well and for a moment he lets rationality win, he pulls away and gently shakes his head at Peter.

  
“Pete…”

  
The brown eyes so full of hope deflate and he slides away on the couch, eyes going down to his hands in his lap as they fidget there while his cheeks turn red in the light from the screen, a muffled whispered apology barely reaching Tony’s ears.

  
And then suddenly the wind on that cliff becomes hurricane level and Tony’s hand laces into Peter’s hair on the back of his head, turning him roughly and pulling him back in with more force than he intended but he crashes their mouths back together, taking charge of the kiss this time and gets a surprised noise from Peter’s throat as a result before it becomes a groan and he starts trying to return it.

  
Tony can tell this is his first real kiss, the inexperience is almost compelling but Peter does his best to match and copy Tony’s movements and he’s a quick learner. His soft lips start off sloppy and there are a few teeth knocking incidents but he gets control enough only to be startled a moment later when Tony’s tongue pushes into his mouth.

  
When Peter’s tongue tentatively meets his, Tony can’t help the low growl in his throat, desire coloring every part of his thoughts and his hand tightens in Peter’s hair while the other one grabs his knee, pulling him forward and trying to press their bodies together. Peter goes even further, almost leaping onto Tony to straddle his lap, body rolling forward as they press together, lips never parting though Peter is now above Tony.

  
Tony’s hips lift, pressing into Peter’s crotch as his hands start on his denim covered knees, sliding up his thighs and around to cup his ass before going up the back of his shirt, fingers feeling across his warm soft skin. The muscles on his back move and shift as Peter wraps his arms around Tony’s neck, holding on tightly as though he’s afraid Tony will push him away again.

  
But that’s not gonna happen. Never gonna happen now. Tony knows it. No matter how many alarm bells are trying to go off at the back of his head, he can’t let go now. He’s in too deep. Was in too deep the first time he watched Pete masturbate. Tony is not a good person, his moral compass has long been broken and this is just another event in a series in his life where he’s not done what he should.

  
So instead he just keeps trailing his fingers across Peter’s skin on his back, around his ribs and brushes his thumbs across his nipples, earning him a spectacularly hot moan that he feels his in own chest they are so close together.

  
Peter releases his lock hold on Tony’s neck and yanks his shirt up and off, the fabric protesting with the force of it as he forgets his own strength. Hands on Peter’s waist, Tony lifts him slightly, enough to wrap his lips around one of his nipples, nibbling just slightly with his teeth and Peter cries out sharply, hips pushing forward. His hands immediately go down to his fly, fingers fumbling to get the button undone, the zipper down, and Tony growls again. In one swift move he tosses Peter off his lap and onto his back on the couch, and slides right between his legs and grinds down.

  
Peter gasps in surprise at the move but moans loudly at the pressure against his cock, his hips pushing up immediately and repeatedly. Tony senses that the kid is already close, frankly he knows the noises he makes when he’s getting there by heart now. Peter’s fingers start pulling at Tony’s t-shirt, yanking it up inelegantly, temporarily blinding Tony as the fabric wraps around his head but he manages to sit up slightly and wrestle it off as quickly as possible. In that time Peter manages to get Tony’s pants open and it’s then that Tony looks down at him, really looks at him and realizes that this isn’t right for Peter. This is his first time and it should be a bit more meaningful than a hurried, sloppy fuck on a couch. Hell, Tony isn’t even sure he’s got lube or condoms in here. Though he might, prepared as he usually liked to be.

  
Peter looks up at him, dark brown eyes blown, lips red and swollen and a tiny bit of fear on his face that he was about to be rejected. Tony smiles at him softly and leans down to kiss him again, more gentle and slow this time and immediately Peter is grabbing at him, hands trying to push Tony’s pants down this time and he can’t help but laugh a little. It was incredibly flattering to be wanted this badly but he also knew that Peter was just doing what he thought he should because he didn’t know any better.

  
While Tony didn’t want to pop Pete’s cherry on the sofa, that didn’t mean they couldn’t still have some fun. Warning bells effectively silenced again, Tony presses one last kiss to Peter’s mouth before rising up on his hands and smirking at him and then leaning in to press lines of kisses down his silky white throat. Peter seems surprised, clearly his porn watching had led him to believe that sex was a pretty rapid progression of kiss to penetration with little in between, Tony felt a strong desire to teach him, to show him all of the fun things they could do. It seemed only right, a man with his obvious knowledge on the subject was really the best person to teach Peter. Add in the fact that Tony cared a great deal about Peter, would take care of him properly and this was just a win-win situation.

  
With that decided, Tony moves from kissing and nipping at Peter’s throat down to his chest, working across both of his nipples thoroughly while Peter keens and squirms beneath him, a variety of different and delicious noises coming from his mouth and throat, all going straight to Tony’s cock.

  
When he reaches the top of Peter’s pants, the kid is damn near falling to pieces. Tony knows his senses are more hyperactive since the bite, that he feels things so much more intensely and a part of him feels a little bad for teasing him for so long. But he still didn’t want to rush things, he wanted this to be special, memorable for Peter. That mattered a great deal to Tony because if he was going to do this, go down this road with Peter all consequences be damned, he was determined that he was not going to sully Peter, not treat him like a quick fuck or trash. Peter meant way too much to him for that, was far too important and special to Tony.

  
Tony knows there are names for the feelings he has for Peter, specific ones, but he avoids thinking about that as he sits back to slide Peter’s jeans off, his boxers joining them on the floor a moment later. Fully nude, Peter not surprisingly gets shy, as most people do the first time they are naked in front of someone in a sexual situation. Tony tries to comfort him by leaning back in to press kisses to his stomach, covering him and Peter starts squirming again, cock hard and knocking against Tony’s collarbone when he moved.

  
When he knows he’s starting to cross the line into being a bit cruel in waiting so long Tony finally wraps his hand around Peter’s dick, squeezing slightly and the resulting noise from Peter is the most beautiful thing Tony has ever heard. His head tips back completely, exposing his lovely throat that is dotted with small red marks from Tony’s teeth and beard. While leaving marks was a damn terrible idea, Tony couldn’t help the satisfaction he feels seeing them as well.

  
He wraps his lips around the head of Peter’s cock after admiring his work on his neck, sucking deeply as his mouth slides down, following his fingers and he doesn’t get far before Peter cries out, yelling Tony’s name as he comes, filling his mouth and Tony chokes slightly in surprise. This was one of the major downsides to teasing someone too long he thinks as he works Peter through his orgasm, sucking still and gently squeezing until he starts twitching and squirming from over sensitivity.  
When he crawls back up the couch to smirk down at Peter, he’s not even slightly surprised at the sheepish face that looks up at him, cheeks deep red.

  
“I’m so sorry, I should have warned you, I just, I couldn’t stop it,” Peter blusters out, looking positively mortified and Tony laughs softly, though not with malice and leans down to capture Peter’s lips mid sentence, kissing away his apologies and concerns.

  
Peter melts into it quickly, arms wrapping around Tony’s torso to pull him down on top of him and Tony can’t help but thrust his hips slightly, his own cock heavy and hard in his pants. He’s trying to think of ways Peter can help him with that without making him uncomfortable or feeling pressured into doing something he’s not ready for when Peter surprises him by sliding a hand between them and straight into Tony’s underwear. His long thin fingers wrap around Tony’s length and squeeze just enough before sliding along it, jacking him slowly but firmly.

  
Tony’s body turns to butter with the touch, mind blanking and he forgets he’s even kissing Peter and instead presses their foreheads together with his eyes closed as he focuses on the sensation. It’s strange how he just sucked Peter off, but this feels so much more intimate. He can feel Peter’s eyes on his face, studying him, memorizing his reactions and when Tony finally finds himself and opens his eyes he can’t help but smile to see that same awe in his eyes that he always had around his idol. Even now, he still idolized Tony and was clearly committing every second of this to memory like any momentous event in a person’s life.

  
Tony loves that awe, the way Peter looks at him, probably way too much because it was definitely over inflating his ego but he can’t help it.

  
As Peter’s hand continues to work him over, twisting and sliding and squeezing so deliciously Tony flicks his tongue against Peter’s lips, earning him a smirk that he quickly devours with his lips, kissing him hard, obscenely and Peter moans softly while his hand picks up speed. Tony’s hips start moving, pushing himself into Peter’s fist, fucking into his hand as his tongue fucks into his mouth.

  
When he reaches the moment of his balls tightening, the heat in his belly overwhelming, he let’s Peter’s name fall from his mouth as his comes, filling Peter’s hand and soaking his underwear but it’s quite possibly the best orgasm he’s had in a while.

  
They kiss languidly on the couch for longer than Tony ever has in a post coital moment, the movie still playing beside them, the singer belting out her aria and Tony grows more and more addicted to Peter by the second.

  
When Peter yawns into his mouth he barks out a laugh, full of nervous energy and genuine joy and Peter follows suit. Tony takes the hint though and climbs off of him, fixing his pants and putting his shirt back on. Peter seems surprised by this development but puts his own clothes back on, eyes dancing to Tony every few seconds.

  
“Pete, there’s cameras in almost every hallway except in the bedroom area, it’s for security but probably best we not go walking around naked. Natasha already gave me shit for that once,” Tony says gently and Peter visibly relaxes.

  
When they are both decent, Tony gives FRIDAY an order to shut down the movie and the lights and leads Peter out of the room and up towards the bedrooms. On the way there, Tony mulls the options. Yes, he would very much like to sleep with Peter. In every sense of the word frankly but tonight, he’d like to actually sleep with him in his arms, how he always desired to when he watched Peter sleep in his own bed. But leading Peter into his bedroom and bed is likely to pull up some expectations, might make Peter think other things are going to happen tonight, might make him feel pressured and Tony doesn’t want that.

  
When they reach the hallway, Tony stops outside Peter’s door and turns towards him and is met with curious, hopeful but apprehensive brown eyes. Reaching up, Tony gently cradles his cheek with his hand and presses a soft kiss to his mouth.

  
“Get cleaned up and changed and if you want to come sleep in my bed, you know where I am. No pressure, no expectations.”

  
Peter relaxes and smiles softly, joy mixing with the awe on his face and he nods quickly before slipping through the door, hurrying off to do as he was told.

  
Tony scurries to his own room, rushing into the bathroom to quickly shower and he throws his pajama pants on after brushing his teeth. He keeps his ears on the bedroom, listening for the bedroom door but doesn’t hear anything and starts to think that maybe Peter isn’t coming, maybe he’s changed his mind or isn’t comfortable with the idea.

  
But when he walks out of the bathroom he finds the kid in his bed already, curled on his side under the covers watching Tony.

  
Of course, he’s Spiderman, stealth is actually one of his strengths.

  
Laughing softly to himself, Tony strolls over to the bed and gets in himself, barely situating himself before Peter is snuggling up against him. Tony gives in to his own desires immediately and pulls him in, wrapping his arms around his smaller shoulders and holding him close.

  
With a soft sigh against Tony’s chest, Peter slips off to sleep and Tony tries to stay awake soaking in the feeling as long as he can before he finally tells FRIDAY to turn the lights out and falls asleep himself.


	4. Chapter 4

Tony knows Peter is awake when he finally comes around himself. Can feel the energy just vibrating off of the young man next to him. Not to mention the distinct feeling of being watched, which is likely what woke the older man up in the first place. 

  
He also knows that Peter is aware he’s awake, his senses have likely already told him and now he’s just anticipating Tony actually acknowledging it.

  
When he cracks one eye open, he’s not even slightly surprised to have it meet two very wide, excited and curious dark brown ones staring back. Tony is on his back on the bed, legs splayed out and right arm up under his pillow while his left is flopped on his stomach. He has vague memories of waking up at various points during the night to Peter sprawled across him, but he can’t be quite sure if he was dreaming that or not. 

  
His eyes feel dry, tired and he could definitely use some coffee but he can’t help but catch a little of Peter’s excitement. It was always kind of fun to wake up the next morning in bed with a new lover, if he chose to let said lover stay that is. Some were definitely temporary. But Peter isn’t, never will be if Peter has anything to say about it. But Tony wants him here, likes waking up next to him. Even if the staring is verging on creepy at this point.

  
“Good morning,” Tony says gruffly and Peter smiles quickly, eyes bright and twinkly and far too awake for morning. 

  
“Hi,” he responds slightly shyly. It’s clear he’s not really sure what to do or what he should be doing, having never slept with anyone before, even though they hadn’t had sex in the bed. 

  
Tony considers that and decides that that just will not do, not if he wants to retain his reputation, even if only Peter knows. He releases his pillow with his right hand and tangles it into the back of Peter’s rats nest hair and pulls him in to a rough kiss. Immediately his body responds, tingles running through his limbs in anticipation as he remembers the way he had touched Peter the night before and how Peter had touched him. 

  
Peter is startled by this movement initially, crashing into Tony more than intended but like the night before, he reacts eagerly and within seconds is straddling Tony’s hips and deepening the kiss while his hands roam over the older man’s chest, fingers circling the metal in the centre. When he grinds his hips down over Tony’s rapidly filling cock, he gets a growl in response that he clearly enjoys judging by the smirk that crosses his lips for a moment. Not wanting to be outdone, Tony decides it’s high time that Peter got a proper blow job, since the night before it had ended up rather short, which was partially his own fault for teasing Peter so much up to the critical point, but still, he needed to get the job done properly. 

  
Wrapping his hands around the younger man’s slim waist he flips him onto his back, a grunt of surprise the response before he slides right between Peter’s legs and props himself up on his hands to look down at him. Peter already looks wrecked, his hair is even more of a complete mess now, worse than when he woke up and his pupils are blown, making his eyes look black. His lips are red, wet and swollen, pink tongue darting out to lick his bottom one in anticipation. He’s lovely, and all Tony’s. 

  
Cupping Peter’s cheek with his hand he leans down and kisses him again, gentler this time, taking it slower despite Peter attempting to speed up again. It takes a minute but he finds Tony’s rhythm and seems to catch on. He was definitely a quick learner.

  
Satisfied, Tony gives him one more peck before backing down the bed, kneeling between Peter’s legs and Peter gasps loudly, eyes going wide again as he watches the older man hook his fingers under the waistband of his pajama pants, tugging them down and freeing his erection to bob against his abdomen. He’s less shy this time, having been in this position once already, and instead he seems curious and very eager as he props himself up on his elbows to watch closely as Tony leans down and presses a line of kisses right up his dick. The gasps turn into groans as Tony sucks on the tip and then the head, working his way down slowly, getting more comfortable with the size in his mouth, weight on his tongue. 

  
“Shit… fuck… ahhh…” Peter moans out, head flopping back and eyes closing momentarily before he tries to refocus and watch and Tony has a vague memory of being scolded about his own use of foul language by Steve. It’s ludicrous to even think of it right now, but he almost laughs thinking how scandalized Steve would be hearing someone as young as Peter use those words. More importantly though, it was kinda hot hearing Peter swear like that. 

  
Tony pulls off with a long, strong suck that has Peter’s hips lifting off of the bed, voice loud in the room, breaking off as Tony goes back down, still sucking hard, tongue pressing against the sensitive bundle of nerves under the head each time he comes back up and goes back down, his hand wrapping around the base as he works towards deep throating him. Peter starts to turn incoherent as it goes on, abdominal muscles twitching as he tries to maintain control and judging by the shake in his legs, he’s desperately trying to last longer than he had the night before. It’s a feat, since Tony is really giving his best right now, Peter’s cock getting right to the back of his throat, but somehow he’s still holding back. 

  
The thing is, Tony isn’t a man who doesn’t accept a challenge and decides to see just how long Peter can hold out, what it would take to finally make him break that control, just for the fun of it. He starts by humming every time Peter’s dick is all the way in his mouth, knowing the vibration at the back of his throat will do really rather splendid things to the head of Peter’s cock but while it gets him some quite exhilarating sounds from higher up the bed, the muscles continue to shake as he holds on. 

  
Tony then picks up speed, sucking just a little harder, enough to make his jaw ache as his hand starts jacking Peter as well but again, no dice. 

  
Now absolutely not willing to be dissuaded he gets another idea and lets go momentarily to sit back and finish divesting Peter of his pants. Peter, for his part does very little to assist with this, just groans unhappily when the sucking stops and then opens his eyes and watches with his mouth open slack, chest heaving with his panting breaths. If anything, it looks like he is welcoming the break to help slow himself down and Tony just can’t have that. 

  
Now nude, Tony spreads his legs and lifts them, bending his knees to spread them further and dives back in, sucking down hard as his other hand gently squeezes his balls, fingers trailing around and Peter shudders, hands gripping the sheets as he keens but determinately keeps watching as though he’s not coming undone entirely.

  
Ready for the big move, Tony pulls his mouth off long enough to wet one of his fingers before he sucks back down his dick at the same time as he starts pushing it into Peter’s tight hole. This gets a strong reaction, first a slight squeal from Peter and then him flopping back on the bed with fistfuls of sheets being thrashed about slightly, back arching. He can see the winces as he looks up at the younger man, knowing that being breached with even a finger for the first time could be a bit uncomfortable but he takes it slow, always keeping strong attention on his cock the whole time and it’s not long before he’s got the entire digit inside of him. His own cock throbs with want, his whole being wanting to replace that finger and fuck Peter raw but he still isn’t sure he’s ready yet so instead he ignores his own needs and turns his hand palm up, finger pressing gently until he finds what he’s looking for. It only takes a slight massage of his prostate for Peter’s body to jolt and shudder in surprise. Tony can’t help but smile, pulling his mouth off again to sit up and watch Peter’s reactions. It’s not an instant orgasm button but it’s damn close and with only a few minutes of careful presses and brushes against it, Peter is a writhing disaster on the bed. 

  
“Fuck… shit… oh my God, oh my God,” he whines out, head thrown to the side and eyes closed tight as he focuses completely on the sensations. 

  
Tony takes in the sight for only a moment longer before deep throating him again, humming loudly at the same time he presses the finger against that critical point and Peter starts screaming.

  
“TONY OH MY GOD I’M COMING OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!”

  
Tony pulls off just enough not to get choked before Peter’s cock starts pulsing in his mouth, filling it and he swallows quickly, still pressing with his finger to make sure to get every ounce of pleasure out of this for Peter. As first proper blow jobs go, this one will probably be the best Tony has ever given and he’s damn proud of it. 

  
Peter turns to jelly in his hands, limbs flopping ungracefully on the bed and his face slackens as he breathes loudly, eyes still closed and brows pulled together as he starts to get over sensitive. 

  
Job done, Tony pulls his finger out gently and crawls up the bed and props himself up on his hands to look down at Peter again, smirking proudly and waiting until finally brown eyes look up at him. He’s completely wrecked, destroyed, in the best way possible and Tony can’t help but flick an eyebrow at him as he looks down at him smugly and Peter laughs once, turning it into a long groan as he pushes his hair back out of his eyes. 

  
“You ok there champ?” Tony asks innocently, a laugh in his voice as Peter weakly smacks at his arm. “How long did you really think you could hold out on me hmm?”

  
Peter gives him an exasperated look that quickly becomes determined and suddenly he turns the tables, finding energy from some deep reserve that Tony had long lost himself and he finds himself on his back quite suddenly on the bed, the younger man draped over him, mouth on his as he licks into Tony’s mouth in a rather dirty manner. Tony is surprised at first but then groans, remembering his own throbbing cock as his hips push up into Peter, looking for friction. 

  
Peter responds by lifting himself up on his own hands and looking down at Tony, causing a small frizzle of suspense to run down Tony’s spine. Seconds later Peter backs down the bed himself and yanks Tony’s pants down with a little less grace than Tony had used before leaning down to take the head of Tony’s cock into his mouth. 

  
“Pete, careful,” Tony warns. He knows damn right well that Peter had been watching so intently because he was learning as well as enjoying and now it appeared he was going to take the lesson he had just received and put it to use on Tony. The thing is, deep throating takes some serious practice and it’s never fun to get puke on your dick. 

  
Peter glances up at him under his eyebrows, giving him a look that told him to shut up before sliding his mouth down farther, trying to recreate the same deep suck that Tony had given him and it’s not bad, in fact it’s quite good and Tony relaxes back to enjoy it. 

  
He takes his time, working down more and more slowly, though not getting as far as Tony, but he makes up for it with his hand and the deep pulling suck he uses on his way up and Tony turns into a writhing mess himself in due time. Unlike Peter he isn’t trying to hold back, he’s just taking it and loving it and letting his body go on its natural course. He watches intermittently, enjoying seeing a fantasy come to life as he watches his ultimate desire sucking him off, brown curls bobbing and cheeks hollowing. When he gets close he gives more warning because he didn’t expect Peter to take it in his mouth though he secretly really wants him to. 

  
“Pete, I’m getting close baby,” Tony breathes out, fingers tangling in Peter’s hair gently, hips pushing up as he seeks more of the wet heat while also preparing for it to leave. But Peter doesn’t back away, just keeps hollowing his cheeks and jacking Tony with the right kinds of squeezing and twisting. “Pete,” Tony warns again as he feels his balls tighten, knowing that he can’t stop now and then he is coming, groaning out Peter’s name as he loses control, back arching off the bed while his vision goes white for a moment. 

  
Peter does his best, sucking and licking but Tony still hears him choke slightly on the taste of it, something else that took time to get used to. When his senses return he feels Peter crawl back up the bed, hears him cough a few times and Tony opens his eyes to check on him. 

  
“You ok?” He asks delicately and Peter wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and nods before snuggling up to Tony on his side. 

  
Tony rolls onto his side as well, bringing them face to face and he gently rubs his nose against Peter’s, getting him a smile. Those unnamed feelings come welling back up again in Tony’s chest as he looks at Peter’s face. His beautiful brown eyes are still twinkling, lips still pink but his skin is soft and creamy with a smattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose and Tony leans in to press soft kisses to them, hand cupping his cheek again, getting him another smile. 

  
Despite how much he just wants this moment to last forever, he knows a few things need to be said since they had kind of hurried right into this. Well Peter had, Tony has been in this relationship for months. 

  
“I know I probably don’t need to say it,” Tony starts as he pulls back a little to watch Peter’s face as he speaks, hand still on his cheek to keep contact and he gets cuts off.

  
“I can’t tell anyone,” Peter says matter of factly. “I know Tony, I won’t, don’t worry. I wouldn’t risk this, or risk anything happening to you.”

“Yeah, safe to say I’m a little more concerned about you,” Tony replies softly, thumb gently rubbing his cheekbone and Peter’s brows flicker with confusion. “Are you ok with this? I’m asking that seriously because we didn’t really talk about it before it just happened last night.”

  
Peter looks at him incredulously.

  
“Have I given any indication that I’m not alright with this?” He asks with one brow up, the left one, making the swoop upward more pronounced. “I’m capable on making my own choices and I have given consent it’s safe to say,” he says clearly, and Tony relaxes more. He absolutely was terrified of taking advantage of Peter, of his clear infatuation with him but he has to give him some respect as an individual who knows his own mind. “Besides, I want this, have for a long time,” Peter adds after, more softly. 

  
Tony can’t help but slide in and kiss him at that, a bubble of joy in his chest mixing with those unnamed feelings and Peter giggles slightly into his mouth, his arms wrapping around Tony’s neck. 

  
“Yo Tony, you still sleeping, get up man, we got work to do,” Rhodey yells down the hall and both of them jump and stare at each other wide eyed in horror and fear. 

  
“Did you know he was here?” Peter whispers harshly and Tony shakes his head fiercely. 

  
“No, Jesus Christ no,” he answers in his own hissing whisper and Peter glances towards the door, fear on his face and he starts scrabbling around for his pajama pants and Tony quickly follows suit.

  
His mind twists in turmoil and terror. They were NOT quiet at all blowing each other a few minutes ago, and Peter’s voice was pretty unmistakable and he was screaming and holy fuck Tony’s going to jail. 

  
A knock on the door makes both of them leap off the bed, pants being ripped into position and Peter takes off for the bathroom, hiding away as quick as he can. 

  
“Tony, get up, vacations over man,” Rhodey says right outside the door and Tony desperately tries to decipher his tone, his meaning, whether he heard anything, knew anything. 

  
He creeps over to the door, heart pounding painfully in his chest behind the power source and he scrubs his hand through his hair as a fine sheen of sweat blooms across his skin. He tries to pull himself together though, on the off chance that he wasn’t caught red handed right now, that Rhodey knew nothing, he couldn’t give it away by acting like a spazz.

  
“Uh yeah, hey Rhodey, didn’t know you were here, what do you need? Pepper’s been running everything from the New York office,” he hurries out, standing on the other side of the door. He hears his friend huff angrily, can almost hear the eye roll in his voice when he responds. 

  
“Yeah I know Tony, while you’ve been sitting on your lazy ass all these months, well times up, time to get back to work. I can’t believe I get here just now, after 10 in the morning and you aren’t even up yet. Christ Tony, pull it together. I’ll meet you in the kitchen in five.” Seconds later Rhodey’s feet can be heard in their mixed shuffle step as he makes his way to the kitchen on the apparatus Tony designed for him to help him walk and Tony about collapses on to the floor.

  
He didn’t hear anything, he doesn’t know. Back pressed to the door he slides down and lands on his ass hard, rubbing his face with his hands. That was way too close. He’s gonna have to install an extra alarm in his bedroom to tell him when someone arrives. He should have a long time ago but didn’t want the constant disruption to his sleep as Avengers came and went. Now it was a definite must. 

  
Peter pokes his head around the corner a few moments later, eyes wide and full of questions and Tony shakes his head in response, gulping in deep breathes as relief courses through him. Peter takes his own deep happy breath and comes out of the bathroom and tip toes over to Tony on the floor. 

  
“We shouldn’t keep him waiting, does he even know I’m here?” Peter whispers and Tony shakes his head. 

  
“Nope, can you get back to your room without being seen?” He asks and Peter gives him a look before motioning for him to move out of the way of the door. Tony obliges by crawling away and seconds later Peter is gone, the sound of his own door closing behind him almost indiscernible. 

  
Still feeling shaky but knowing Peter is right, that he can’t keep Rhodey waiting, lest he come looking for Tony again, he hurries into the bathroom to quickly clean up and brush his teeth before changing into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and throwing some sneakers on before heading out and down to the kitchen. He takes one more deep breath before he goes into the room, making sure he’s acting and looking as normal as possible before he greets his friend. 

  
“Rhodey, good to see you, coffee?” Tony offers as he comes in, voice only the tiniest bit wobbly as he goes over to the elaborate coffee machine where he pushes some buttons and soon the room fills with the rich scent. 

  
“Tony, what the fuck have you been doing?” Rhodes asks him pointedly and Tony feels a little cold with fear at his meaning. “You’ve been holed up here, hiding from the world for how many months? Why? What are you even trying to accomplish here? I get it, shit went bad with Steve, but that doesn’t mean life ends, or the Avengers comes to a halt. The Secretary of State is losing his shit, Tony, he is demanding we rebuild as soon as possible and get back to work.”

  
“Ross can eat shit Rhodey, it’s partly his fault this entire enterprise blew up anyway,” Tony replies, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

  
“You agreed with the accords, are you saying you don’t now,” Rhodey asks him incredulously.

  
“I did, I do in theory, but I’m not sure all of this was worth it, do you?” Tony asks. 

  
“I hate that it came to what it did, but what happened was about more than the accords and you know that Tony. Have you called Steve?” 

  
Tony’s jaw tightens as he turns to glare at his long time friend. He of all people should know the betrayal Tony was feeling. Rhodes opens his mouth to say more but Peter suddenly appears at the door, fidgeting and looking unsure. He’s in jeans and a t-shirt with some obscure math joke on it with a red and blue plaid shirt on top and his usual scuffed sneakers. 

  
“Pete, hey, good morning, how did you sleep, do you want some breakfast?” Tony asks a little over cheerfully and Peter gives him a quick look to tone it down before turning to Rhodes.

  
“Hi Mr. Rhodes, I didn’t know you were here?” Peter says politely, hurrying forward to shake the older man’s hand and Rhodes just stares at him confused and then at Tony confused. 

  
“Pete has been hanging out on weekends to work in the lab and learn more about the Avengers. He’s come up with a pretty kick ass experiment for his physics class, I’ve been helping him out,” Tony explains and Rhodes sits back, looking impressed and actually pleased at this development. 

  
“Well I’m glad you haven’t been just sitting up here alone and it’s good to see you again son,” Rhodey replies, nodding at Peter who smiles back. 

  
“In fact, we’re pretty busy today with that, we’re conducting some tests and getting it all set up, so probably won’t have time for administrative stuff today,” Tony says pointedly, hoping Rhodey will accept that and just leave, but knowing full well it won’t work.

  
“Tony, you have a job to do and while I’m happy to see you mentoring Peter because it means you aren’t turning into a crazy hermit again, you need to focus more on what we need to do. Ross wants to have a meeting this afternoon, it’s non-negotiable.” He declares, staring Tony down before turning to Peter. “I’m sorry son but you’ll have to work on your project alone today, I’m gonna have to keep him for the rest of the day.”

  
Peter turns and looks at Tony, clearly unsure of what to do before turning back to Rhodey.

  
“I would think he would get a choice, he’s already given so much to this whole Avengers thing, which is awesome, cuz Iron Man is awesome and we all know that, but it seems a little unfair to ask so much more of him, since he’s responsible for this compound even being here,” Peter says carefully and Tony can’t help but smirk at Rhodey’s darkening expression. “I mean no disrespect sir, but Mr. Stark did make it clear when he made Ms. Potts CEO of Stark Industries that he wanted to step back and it seems unfair to drag him back in.”

  
“Peter, you don’t understand this, but while I appreciate your defense of Tony, you are right that he is responsible for this, for a lot of this mess too and it’s about time he stepped up and started helping in clean it up,” Rhodes says in a clipped tone before turning back to Tony. “Ross will be calling in a half hour, I need that time to brief you on everything before then, we’ve got a lot to get done and organized and he wants to get a team put together before next month so we can show the rest of the government that we are doing what we said we would be doing.”

  
“And what is that exactly Rhodey? Cuz last time I checked, the Avengers, the entire initiative was the bringing together of individuals with the same goal in mind of ensuring world safety. We’ve done our job, as best we can, and have we fucked up a few times? Absolutely, that’s why I agreed with the accords, I thought we needed oversight but now I’m not so sure because it seems to me that that oversight is turning more and more into government control and Ross making us into a dog and pony show.” Tony replies. Feeling a bit incensed at Rhodey dismissing Peter. “Peter is right, I have given a lot, given pretty much everything to this cause, to building the Avengers, to keeping it going and trying to create a team but in the end it can’t be forced, and it can’t be controlled by some government agency that only wants us to prop them up on the world stage. So sorry, no, I’m not coming to this meeting, not today, not ever. If that means I’m out of the Avengers, fine, but I’m not the only one who’s already left and since I own this building here, what are you even gonna do about it.”

  
Rhodey’s nostrils flare in anger at Tony’s response.

  
“You can tell Ross that yourself, I’m tired of acting as your go between, of cleaning up after you and making excuses for you.” Rhodes declares, getting up and storming from the room. 

  
Peter watches him go with wide worried eyes before he turns back to Tony. 

  
“What’s gonna happen? Are they gonna kick you out?”

  
“Nope, they can’t and they know that.” Tony replies matter of factly. “Right, what do you want for breakfast?” He asks gently, turning towards the fridge and looking for things. 

  
They manage to get some eggs scrambled and toast made before Rhodes returns, looking like an angry bull.

  
“Ross is on his way up here, you’ll get to talk to him in person this time, hope you’re ready,” he states and Tony just takes another bite of his toast. The old military man didn’t scare him, he knew how valuable he was to the entire organization. 

  
He does feel a tiny twinge of worry though, he didn’t really need them coming down on him and watching him more with his new relationship with Peter going on. He couldn’t give Peter up, not for anything, so he had to find a way to get these assholes off his back, to get them to leave him alone again, but how?

  
He can feel Peter’s eyes on him while he thinks and he nods after a moment.

  
“Fine, I’ll talk to him, but he better make it quick.” Tony replies, finishing his coffee and standing up. “Peter, why don’t we go work on your project until he gets here, I’d still like to get a test in today, seeing as it’s worth 40% of your final mark,” he says pointedly, looking at Rhodey who just tightens his jaw. 

  
Peter obediently follows him out of the kitchen and down to the lab, working quietly on setting things up and typing away at the computers next to Tony. They hear the helicopter as it comes in, feel the building shake slightly with the force of the wind and ten minutes later the Secretary of State is standing at the door to the lab, glaring fiercely at Tony. 

  
“Ross, long time no see, couldn’t have made it longer?” Tony asks in a sarcastic tone and Peter glances at him quickly before refocusing on the computer in front of him. 

  
“We need to talk Tony, now, alone,” Ross declares, staring pointedly at Peter, Rhodey standing beside him with his arms crossed on his chest and Tony gives him a look at how ridiculous he was being. 

  
“Peter has work to do, besides he will be part of the Avengers one day if this whole thing is still around, so he can listen in on meetings, it’s fine,” Tony says easily, sauntering over to the large table in the centre of the room and plopping down in one of the chairs. 

  
Ross looks confused, staring at Peter again as though trying to figure out how in hell he could possibly be a superhero and Peter turns awkwardly and shuffles from foot to foot a few times before coming forward with his hand out.

  
“Um, hi, Mr. Secretary Ross, I’m Peter, Parker, also known as Spiderman,” he introduces and explains carefully and Ross’s brows shoot up in surprise.

  
“You’re the Spiderman?” He huffs out in surprise, eyes taking Peter in from top to toe, and then back up again. 

  
“Um, yup, I am,” Peter says awkwardly. 

  
“I can confirm this,” Rhodey adds. “I’ve seen him in action, he’s good.”

  
Ross stares at Peter for a moment longer before nodding once. 

  
“Well, that’s good I guess, since we lost so many recently, we’re gonna need fresh blood,” he decides before turning to Tony. “Have you got him properly in the system, he’s officially a member of the team, we can introduce him and all of that.”Tony sees the gleam of joy in Ross’s eye at having a new shiny pony to show off and feels smug that he gets to burst his bubble.

  
“Nope, I offered and he said no, he is focused on finishing high school and going to college and would rather remain anonymous, so obviously you are required to keep his identity secret,” Tony says happily and Ross’s face darkens before he turns back to Peter.

  
“Son, this is a wonderful opportunity, I would have thought you would want to be an Avenger, be famous with the rest of them and save the world.”

  
Peter looks entirely unimpressed with his speech, one brow going up wryly. 

  
“I thought I did, but learning what I have today and seeing the way you are running things I’m going to have to decline, though I’m happy to keep being mentored by Mr. Stark in physics,” Peter declares before turning back to the computer and then realizing himself. “I guess if I’m not actually joining, at least not any time soon, then I should probably step out for the meeting, maybe we can run the test later?” He asks Tony carefully, who doesn’t even get a chance to respond.

  
“Probably best you head on home for the weekend then son, come back another day to be mentored,” Ross spits. “Rhodes, call Mr. Hogan to come collect Mr. Parker and take him home.”

  
“Um, excuse me, you do not get to decide who does and doesn’t stay here in this building,” Tony starts before Ross puts a hand up and he remembers that he needs to find a way to get them to back off, which might mean playing ball right now. “Fine, I’m going to help Peter pack up and walk him to the door if that’s alright, seeing as he is technically my guest,” Tony declares before standing up and walking with Peter out the door of the lab before anyone can stop him. He can see the hurt on Peter’s face and knows he needs to explain as fast as possible before Happy gets there. 

  
They reach Peter’s bedroom door quickly and hurry in and Tony shuts the door behind them quietly and reaching for Peter before he gets too far away. He pulls him in close, arms around his waist as he kisses him softly.

  
“I’m sorry, trust me I don’t want you to go,” Tony says earnestly, holding eye contact with Peter. “But I have to work with them if I’m going to get them to leave me alone,” he explains.

  
Peter’s brows flicker as he works through that, sorting out Tony’s meaning.

  
“Pete, we can’t have them moving back in here and all over me again, I have to find a way to compromise with them, figure out a way to keep them off my back so they don’t find out about us, because I am absolutely not ending us, alright, I have to find a way to protect us.”

  
Recognition crosses Peter’s face and he nods, closing his eyes slowly before he leans in himself and kisses Tony, pulling it out a little longer than they probably should before they release each other and Peter hurries to pack up his stuff. Tony hates watching it but knows they don’t have a choice.

  
When Peter’s ready, he walks him down to the main entrance where Happy stands next to the sleek black car looking miserable and serious as usual. They keep their goodbye friendly and normal looking, though inside Tony is hurting more than he thought he could and he stands and watches until he can’t see the car anymore. 

  
“Tony, let’s go,” Rhodey says behind him and he drops his chin and sighs angrily. 

  
The meeting goes on all afternoon, a lot of shouting and accusations flying but tentatively they come to an agreement that Tony will hold down the fort at the compound, which meant being a bit more hands on. Doing things like leaving the sectioned living quarters and lab and actually mingling with the rest of the people who worked there every day but never saw or even talked to. He was to supervise them more, handle the agents and work with them to identify threats and decide on actions to take while Rhodey and Ross would handle the PR end of things and Fury would continue with recruitment. Evidently Tony’s failure to pull Peter in was seen as proof he couldn’t be trusted in that position. Tony is perfectly fine with that because frankly he didn’t care who was there or wasn’t, he had lost friends in Germany, too many and didn’t want to get close to others to risk losing their friendship as well. Besides, the new work they wanted him to do was basically Monday to Friday, unless something was going on, meaning he still had his evenings free to watch Peter and weekends to fill with Peter. 

  
The best part was that Rhodey had decided to locate himself in Washington, meaning that Tony was effectively getting the living quarters all back to himself again. Rhodes issues some concern at Tony being all alone but he is reassured when Tony points out that he will be working with other people in the offices and would only be there to sleep basically.

  
It’s after 4 by the time they leave and Tony is exhausted and missing Peter and glad to see the back of them. The moment they are gone he heads into his little party room as he now called it and plops down in his leather chair, turning the feed on and pulling his phone out before smirking as he types a message to Peter. 

_T: what are you wearing?_

He starts by way of greeting. He can see Peter in his bedroom, sitting on his bed unloading his stuff from his bag. The ding of his phone startles him and he picks it up and sees Tony’s message, looking a tad shocked before slightly amused.

_P: Jeans, t-shirt and a flannel._

_T: that’s not very sexy 😒_

Tony laughs as he watches Pete get flustered, cheeks going red. 

_P: I’m going out for dinner with my Aunt, not really the time to be sexy._

Tony starts to respond but when he hears the main lab door open he quickly puts his phone down and goes out into the larger room. 

  
“I forgot my jacket,” Rhodey says, clearly still a little angry about their argument at breakfast. He plucks the black leather garment off the back of the chair and turns on his heel and leaves, nothing else said. Tony shrugs, not feeling the least bit bad and heads back to his private party room when he hears his phone ding.

  
He about chokes on his own spit when he sees what the message is and has to close the door before Rhodey hears him react, a loud laugh bubbling up his throat.

  
There on his screen is a picture of Peters flaccid dick, his jeans opened just enough to get it out for the quick snap.

  
Tony starts typing a response but decides this requires actual conversation. Peter picks up on the first ring and Tony can hear the blush in his voice.

  
“Tony, hey, I told you, I’m going out,” he says quickly in a harsh whisper.

  
“Did you just send me a dick pic?” Tony asks in a deadpan voice. “Because next time, you might wanna get hard first, that’s a lot more interesting.”

  
“I can’t right now,” Peter squeaks out, still trying to be quiet but clearly now very agitated. “I thought that’s what you wanted, you know, for me to be sexy or whatever,” he demands.

  
Tony laughs quietly, trying not to offend Peter with his giggles.

  
“While I appreciate it, that’s not that sexy, though I do still enjoy it, but fine, I get that now might not be the most ideal time. That wasn’t why I was texting you anyway.”

  
“What?” Peter says incredulously. “Why did you text me and ask me what I was wearing then?”

  
“Just making conversation, listen, I’ll pick you up on Friday alright? We can go for dinner in the city.”

  
Peter sighs loudly, clearly still annoyed at the deception but also eager to spend time with Tony.

  
“Yeah that sounds good,” he whispers, trying to sound nonchalant but Tony can hear the anticipation in his voice. “Is Rhodey, uh, is he staying there, at the compound I mean?” 

  
“Nope, I convinced him and Ross that I’m not fit for board meetings and boring shit, they’re going back to Washington and as long as I do as I agreed to do, we have the place to ourselves.” Tony grins as he tells Peter, knowing how happy it would make him to hear that since Tony was ecstatic himself.

  
“Cool, ok, well I gotta go,” he says quickly, and Tony hears May calling for Peter over the phone, the screen on mute. But he can still see Peter smiling widely.

  
“Ok, talk to you later, have a good time with your Aunt.”

  
“Ok, bye,” Peter hangs up quickly, head swiveling to the door as May comes in. He hand waves away her questions about who he was talking to and follows her out.

  
The moment they are off screen, Tony rewinds the footage to find when Pete took the picture and it’s even better and funnier than he was expecting. He laughs as he watches the younger man sidle over to his door, clearly looking for May before closing it most of the way and hurrying to unzip his pants and pull his dick out. Face red, he quickly takes the picture and tucks himself away and does his pants up, eyes checking the door several times through the process before he sends the picture to Tony and sits on the edge of his bed, face still red and brows pulled together self-consciously.

  
While it was funny as hell, Tony actually rather likes the picture and weirdly it is kinda sexy to watch him do it, the whole sneaking around thing alluring in a way.

  
His own dick responds lazily, curiously and he gets an idea quickly and undoes his fly and pushes his pants down. Wrapping a hand around himself he slowly works his dick up to full hardness, mind full of thoughts of Peter. Most prominently he pictures Peter on his back on one of the lab tables, naked, his legs spread over the side, open and inviting as Tony steps between them and slides home.

  
When he’s fully hard, he grabs his phone and snaps a quick picture, filing it in his secret file to send later since he had enough sense not to send it while Pete was eating dinner with his Aunt. Once done, he continues the fantasy in his mind, hips thrusting up as he fucks into his fist like he would fuck into Peter. He wants so badly to get to this with him, to feel him tight all around him, but he knew he wouldn’t and couldn’t rush it. It had to be when Peter was OK with it.

  
He comes with a long moan and Peters name on his lips. Feeling only slightly satisfied but full of anticipation for the weekend to come.

  
After he cleans himself up and gets dressed he wanders to the kitchen to get food for himself, grabbing a mish mash of random shit and taking it back to the lab. He eats it slowly as he looks at some of the paperwork Rhodey brought him, mind only absorbing a tenth of it before he realizes the time and goes back to the party room.  
Pete is home, in bed under the covers though he’s sitting up and playing on his phone. Tony takes the chance and quickly sends the picture he took earlier with a smirk on his lips.

  
Peter frowns for a second in surprise at getting a message that late and then his eyes bulge out of his head when he sees what he got.

_T: that is how you do a dick pic_

Peters mouth is open still in shock and he laughs once, shaking his head slightly but clearly is looking at every pixel of that picture quite thoroughly.

  
He starts chewing on his bottom lip as he glances at the door. The apartment sounds quiet, Tony assumes May has gone to bed. Peter seems to think that as well as his hand slides under the covers and the telltale movements start up indicating that he’s touching himself. He keeps looking at his phone as he does it, shock on his face melting away to arousal and Tony assumes he’s still looking at the picture. 

  
A few moments later he shuffles slightly, adjusting himself under the covers before he lifts them enough to get his phone in place before the flash goes off and Tony snorts a laugh. Seconds later his phone dings and he sees the attachment to the message.

  
It’s really quite glorious, and so very Peter in set up. His boxers are pushed down, his erect dick the centre of the picture with a shroud of blankets around it and Tony smiles as he quickly saves it.

_T: much better. The blankets really make it stand out_

Peters face scrunches up in annoyance slightly and he shakes his head in frustration.

_P: my aunt doesn’t knock ok, I have to be careful_

_T: understood. So tell me, what were you thinking about as you touched yourself, what turned you on?_

Tony smirks as he watches Peter blush in the light of his phone, his own hand sliding back down his pants to start stroking his half hard dick.

_P: you_

_T: care to be more specific?_

_P: what were you thinking about when you got hard for your picture?_

Tony growls a little and then laughs. Typical Pete.

_T: you_

Peter laughs on the screen, shaking his head again.

_P: I was thinking about you touching me, your hand on me. I wish I could be touching you right now._

Tony groans slightly, knowing that feeling exactly. 

_P: you?_

_T: I was thinking about you, naked, on a lab table on your back with me between your legs_

Peters eyebrows shoot up, his hand quickly going back down under the covers, the movement resuming with a more hurried pace. He still manages to type with one hand though.

_P: I want that too_

Tony growls, shoving his pants down as he starts jerking himself hard, the same frustration at not being with Peter at that moment coming back.

_T: you want me to fuck you?_

_P: yes, a lot, I want you inside of me_

Peter turns a little red again at the admission but his face remains determined as he continues to stroke himself at a rapid pace under the blankets, his panting breath getting louder in the room, hips moving on their own now.

_T: are you touching yourself right now? Are you close?_

Peter nods before realizing he has to type a response, no clue that the person on the other end had already got it. Already knows what he is doing. Tony feels guilty again for watching. 

_P: yes, so close, I want you so bad._

_T: we will, I’m gonna fuck you this weekend, I’m gonna give you everything you want. Come for me baby, tell me how it feels_

Peters head drops back as he reaches his climax from Tony’s words, hips thrusting up into his hand as he moans breathily, whispering Tony’s name several times. As he comes down from it, looking entirely spent as he sags back on the pillows, he lifts the blankets a bit again and the flash goes off one more time.

  
A picture shows up in Tony’s face, Peters abdomen splattered with his release, hand still wrapped around his dick and Tony comes himself, making his own mess that he quickly documents and sends back.

  
Peter smiles smugly, clearly impressed with himself at making Tony Stark come and Tony can’t help but laugh.

_P: I’ll hold you to that promise._


	5. Chapter 5

Growing up wealthy, able to have whatever he wanted when he wanted meant that Tony Stark was all about instant gratification. He wasn’t really good with patience or anticipation. So having to wait a week before seeing Peter again, especially considering their plans for that weekend, was damn near painful. 

  
Add in that Tony had to spend that week starting his new job, and he was basically miserable. The minions working at the compound were thrilled to see him around initially, all of them lining up to kiss his ass as often as possible. But they quickly figured out that he wasn’t actually that particularly interested in them or in being there at all. When he fell asleep during one of their threat assessment presentations, their tone around him quickly changed and soon they were basically ignoring him in favor of focusing on their jobs. 

  
This was fine by him, he really didn’t want to be there and didn’t think he should hide that fact. He logged the hours in the tower, paid attention just enough to be able to report back to Rhodey and Ross on what he had learned that day and just wiled away the rest of the time thinking about Peter and tinkering with small projects that he brought with him. 

  
The one thing that truly bothered him was that while he was stuck in the tower bored out of his tree, he was missing that time he could be watching Peter. At least the time he was home during the afternoon, which wasn’t much truthfully as he was at school for most of the day and out solving crimes after and then out to dinner with his aunt. But Tony still resented losing those few minutes in the morning.

  
They still texted every night, sending each other dirty pictures and jerking off together, well as together as two people in two separate places could. Tony was always glad for the video feed to watch so he could see Peter’s reactions and his facial expressions and how he moved and felt a little bad that Peter couldn’t watch him the same way. But giving him a view meant they had to either FaceTime, which was not an option what with Peter’s aunt in the next room, or Tony would have to be honest about the camera in Peter’s room. He wasn't willing to do that, it meant risking losing Peter.

  
So he got a wonderful live view of Peter jerking off, albeit under his covers, while Peter stared at the latest picture and dirty words Tony had sent him. 

  
The week otherwise crawls and Friday feels years away on Wednesday. Not being able to see more of Peter during the day meant that Tony missed out on some of the events in his life and more importantly, some of the conversations he had with his aunt. This becomes pertinent Thursday evening when he hears them talking in the living room in a serious tone before Peter comes into his bedroom looking frustrated as he sits down to his math homework on his bed. May follows him in a moment later, looking frustrated herself and sad and a pang of worry goes through Tony’s chest.

  
“Look, I know you admire Mr. Stark and enjoy working with him, but you’ve been gone the last three weekends in a row there, do you really need to go again this weekend? You’ve barely been spending time with Ned let alone me. Maybe you just need to take a break from this project you’re working on to actually relax for a weekend,” she pleads gently and Tony feels guilty. He really was occupying Peter’s time every weekend, but then again, it was Peter’s choice as well, it was what he wanted. 

  
“This project is worth 40% of my final mark May, I want to get it right and I would have thought you’d be happy that I’m focusing so much on schoolwork and working so hard, most other parents would be,” Peter replies shortly, eraser scrubbing at something he’d just written, his brows pulled together in annoyance. 

  
“Peter of course I’m happy that you are so smart and working so hard, I’m so proud of you because God knows you’re doing so much better in school than I ever did but you’re also allowed to be a teenager, to have fun and enjoy life a little, I’m worried you’re gonna miss out on stuff. Didn’t Ned say there was a party this week at that girl Betty’s place? Maybe you should go to that and go up to work with Mr. Stark next weekend?” May presses again and Tony tries to remember if Peter ever mentioned this party. There was a part of him that couldn’t help but agree with May a little, Peter shouldn’t miss out on being a 16-year-old and making stupid decisions and partying with his friends. 

  
“Mr. Stark and I have already made plans for this weekend May, he’s a busy man and it’s really cool of him to find time for me, so I’m not about to start trying to change things for some stupid party,” Peter replies tersely, giving her a quick look before refocusing on his notebook. “Besides, I didn’t want to go to that party anyway. I need to get my homework done.” 

  
May opens her mouth to say more but at his dismissal she stops and just sighs sadly before leaving the room. 

  
Tony sits torn. On the one hand, he wanted Peter with him, needed him with him and the thought of even giving up one weekend was gut wrenching. Particularly when he thought of what they were planning for this weekend. But that makes him feel even more guilty. He was monopolizing Peter, taking him away from his friends and family for sex, so Tony could get off. That seemed so impossibly selfish. He reminds himself that it isn’t just for sex, that they had actually been working on Peter’s project but the thought sounds feeble in his mind. 

  
After much mental gymnastics and attempts to come up with a solution, Tony decides that maybe he should tell Peter he can’t come to the compound until Saturday morning. They would still have all day Saturday and Saturday night together but then Peter could go to the party, see his friends and appease his aunt a little. The only thing was, how was he going to convince Peter of this without revealing how much he knew by simply watching on the camera. 

  
The best lie he can come up with is that Rhodey is making a visit on Friday, might be staying the night. It was plausible, Peter would buy it. But then how to convince him to go to the party without revealing that he knew there was a party since Peter had definitely never mentioned it to Tony. 

_T: Hey, bad news, Rhodey is coming for a visit on Friday, checking up on me I guess on my first week. I don’t know how long he’s staying but probably for the night. Can I pick you up Saturday morning?_

Peter drops his pencil on his book and quickly snatches up his phone when it dings, a small smile on his lips before he droops in sadness at the message and Tony’s throat gets tight. He hates this, hates lying to him because this is the last thing Tony wants. He wants Peter to come on Friday, so why is he ruining that, making Pete look so sad for nothing? 

_P: I guess_

The reply is short, and so full of disappointment that Tony can feel it. He immediately tries to come up with ways to temper the sadness and remembers the party and how he should be trying to find a way to get Peter to go. 

_T: Just go do something fun, because then at least one of us will be having a good time. What’s Ned up to Friday?_

He winces a little at how he sounds like a pushy parent with the way he asks, not how you want your lover to see you. Peter frowns at the message and sighs loudly in frustration. 

_P: He’s going to some party the girl he likes is having, it’s not really my thing, I would rather be with you._

And Tony would much rather Peter was with him, but now he’s started this nonsense he can’t even back out. He was really starting to see how much Peter wasn’t into this party idea, and Tony wants to punch himself in his own face for being so fucking stupid as to be worrying about Peter’s social life when clearly he was going against what Peter wants. Like Peter had told him the morning they had laid in bed, he knows his own mind and can make his own decisions. Treating him like a child was not something Tony wanted to do at all. But he was in too deep in this deception now so he tries to find a way of making it better, softening the blow he had just dealt.

_T: Trust me, I want you here, more than fucking anything. Look, go to the party to look out for Ned, you’re the more level headed one and he might need a friend. If it sucks, text me, we can talk at least._

Peter visibly relaxes a bit and sighs again before typing a response.

_P: Alright fine, I’ll keep Ned out of trouble but if it really sucks, you have to come get me, deal?_

Tony smirks, knowing full well he will get called upon, probably within the first hour but then at least Peter can say he went to the party, appeasing his aunt and then Tony will get him all to himself for the rest of the weekend. Win-win. 

_T: Deal. If Rhodey hasn’t left we will just check into a hotel and wait until he leaves._

Peter grins at that before biting his bottom lip slightly, clearly thinking about what they could do in that hotel room. Tony knows they won’t go to a hotel, way too risky to get caught since he was pretty recognizable but it was clearly making Peter happy with the thought and that was good enough for him. 

_T: Ok, now more importantly, what are you wearing right now?_

***

Friday is much the same as every other day of the week but at least holds the promise of a much better end than all the others.

  
May is over the moon when Peter tells her he’s gonna go to the party to chaperone Ned before he heads up to the compound. She’s not particularly thrilled at him going so late but he assures her that Tony’s gonna drive him and he’ll be just fine. He smartly doesn’t mention that he and Tony plan on spending the rest of the weekend fucking like rabbits.

  
He packs his bag when he gets home from school and fights off May’s attempts at picking an outfit for him to wear to the party, choosing for himself a tight black t-shirt and tight black jeans that cup his ass so perfectly that Tony has to jerk off halfway through eating dinner in the party room. He’d already given Rhodey his daily report, informed him that he was done for the week and to fuck off and leave him alone for the weekend since nothing important was happening in the world. 

  
After Peter leaves for the party just after 8, bag on his shoulder, Tony just sits back and waits for the inevitable text to come in. 

  
It doesn’t end up being a text though, instead his phone rings at just after 10 and Peter sounds perturbed to say the least.

  
“Hey, you said you’d come get me, is Rhodey still there?” He asks quickly and Tony can hear a lot of noise in the background though it sounds just muffled enough that it’s clear Peter isn’t in amongst the party anymore.

  
“I did, text me the address, Rhodey left about a half hour ago,” Tony lies easily and then his ears start to pick up on something, a song or chant going on in the background that he tries to hear. When he finally makes out the words, his jaw tightens in anger. The kids are chanting Penis Parker over and over, some heavy beat playing as though they are making it into a song and he can hear quite a bit of laughter. 

  
He had already figured out that Peter got picked on at school, and that it was likely down to a lot of jealousy on the part of the kids who did it since Peter was super smart and gorgeous but he was also a lot more mature than most of them, his tragic past making him grow up quicker. 

  
“Who is that doing that?” Tony asks sharply, mentally coming up with ways to punish the little bastard who was clearly leading the entire thing. 

  
“It’s… it’s no one,” Peter says quietly. “Don’t worry about it, just come get me, ok?”

  
“I’m on my way babe, but you should stand up for yourself, you are better than them, stronger, don’t let them treat you that way,” Tony says gently, trying to be more understanding. 

  
“Yeah, safe to say I can’t really stand up for myself or show my strength without that causing a lot more questions, better they just think I’m some weird weakling, it’s not like I’m gonna be in high school forever anyway,” Peter replies, sounding resigned and Tony knows he's right. Peter could easily, one handed, destroy every kid in that room but that was because he was Spiderman, and doing so would definitely out the fact that he was enhanced. It still bothered him though that Peter had to put up with this bullshit, it wasn’t fair when Peter was such a good person, with such a kind heart. But it was a show of his maturity that he wasn’t rising to their shit, was just accepting that they were the way they were and was willing to just tough it out with a focus on his future. 

  
Tony is about to respond when he hears the leader announce himself as DJ Flash and he quickly notes the name. Peter may not want to take action, was willing to take the high road but once again, Tony’s moral compass was drunk off its ass and he wasn’t quite so willing to let it go. He wasn’t gonna kill the kid or anything, just do a little research and see how he could maybe make his life a little miserable. 

  
“Ok, I hear you, but you can always talk to me you know, if you need to,” Tony offers.

  
“I know, and I appreciate that but really I’d rather just see you right now,” Peter replies, a smile in his voice and that warms Tony’s chest significantly.

  
“I’m on it,” Tony says quickly, while getting in his sports car and pushing the start button, making the engine loudly come to life. At least this DJ Flash asshole would have to watch as Peter got into Tony’s $250,000 car with Iron Man in the driver’s seat. That would certainly make the kid feel pretty damn small in comparison. 

  
“Ok,” Peter says cheerfully, hearing the engine. “See you soon.”

  
At that they hang up and the address pops up on Tony’s phone which he quickly puts into his GPS on his car and tears down the driveway with the tires squealing. The hour long drive takes him only 30 minutes and he manages to skirt any law enforcement on the way. They generally gave him a free pass anyway, since as he was a superhero and all that, but he didn't want anything popping up on any radar for Rhodey or Natasha to see and therefore start asking questions. 

  
The house the party is at is by no means modest, a mid-sized mansion with a large sprawling lawn out front and dozens of cars parked wherever there is space. He sees a figure sitting in the shadow on the front porch as he pulls up and Peter stands up as soon as he sees Tony’s car. At the same moment the front door opens and some scrawny gangly kid pours out the door, looking a little worse for wear on the alcohol in his system but he still gapes when he sees the car, mouth moving as he quickly calls back into the party to alert everyone else. 

  
Peter glances back at him and looks annoyed before hurrying down the steps as Tony comes to a screeching stop and pops the trunk. Peter tosses his bag in and slams the door closed before rushing around to the passenger door and jumping in. By this point there are about a dozen kids on the porch, including Ned who are all staring in shock at the car and it’s driver. Tony scans them, trying to figure out which one DJ Flash is but it’s hard to really tell and Peter looks at him anxiously, clearly wanting them to just get going. 

  
“Has Ned got a ride home?” Tony asks, figuring they should still be responsible and Peter nods quickly.

  
“Yes, he’s fine, let’s go,” Peter says quietly, glancing back at the rapidly growing audience and Tony floors it, the tires kicking up stones and dust as he takes off down the driveway. He waits until they are out of view in the shadows before putting a hand on Peter’s thigh and squeezing supportively. He feels the tension ease a little and Peter puts his own hand over Tony’s and takes it, holding on tightly. 

  
“You ok?” Tony asks as they pull out on the highway, hands still together. He’s worried that more than what he heard happened at that party and he starts to feel even worse for making Peter go. 

  
“Yeah, I’m fine, just… just tired of them I guess,” he says quietly, looking down at his lap, fingers on his free hand wrapping around his knee. “I mean, before the bite was almost easier, cuz I knew that I was just a nerd, I was so stereotypically the kid people pick on and I almost accepted that but now, it’s just so frustrating because I’m not that guy anymore but I can’t actually tell or show them that because I don’t want to tell them too much.” 

  
“Ok, first, you are not a nerd or deserving of being picked on, no one is frankly, there’s never a time for that and frankly, you’re better than them and I think they know that, it’s probably why they do it, they’re jealous of you,” Tony reassures him and Peter nods noncommittally. “And hey, at least you made a spectacular exit.”

  
Peter snorts a laugh and glances at Tony, squeezing his hand.

  
“Yeah, I’m sure that’s going to stop them from talking about me,” he retorts with a laugh, shaking his head. “Whatever, I don’t even care, I’m with you now, fuck them, they don’t matter, not anymore.”

  
Tony flips his hand and laces their fingers together and squeezes Peter’s gently.

  
“Damn right, they never did, like I said, you’re better than them, they don’t matter.”

  
The streetlights flash across Peter’s face as he looks at Tony, a small smile on his lips, looking more reassured and confident than he had a few minutes ago. Tony vows never to be deceitful and push him into doing something he didn’t want to do ever again. Then he remembers the camera, and figures maybe he should still keep quiet about that at least, but he wouldn’t force Peter to go to anymore stupid parties. 

  
When they get back to the compound it’s almost midnight and both are quiet as Tony pulls the car into the garage and puts it in park, finally releasing Peter’s hand to get out. He pops the trunk and Peter leans in to retrieve his bag, his ass perfect, inviting and delicious in his tight black jeans and without thinking Tony reaches over and gives it a quick squeeze before letting go when he remembers the security cameras. He prays it wasn’t visible to any of them as Peter whirls around and gives him a shocked look. 

  
“Sorry, but perhaps I failed to mention how fucking hot you look tonight. I know you hated the party and I don’t blame you, but Jesus why don’t you dress like this all the time?” Tony asks him, tilting his chin down as though demanding an answer. 

  
Peter glances down at himself and then back up to Tony, cheeks reddening self-consciously. 

  
“I, I dunno, I guess I just thought since it was a party I should make a little effort, but it’s not like anyone there noticed, and I wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing this every day to school,” he replies, fidgeting now as Tony looks him up and down a few times, drinking in the sight.

  
“Trust me, they noticed, they may not have said anything but anyone with eyes and a sex drive noticed you tonight, and I might have to require this as your uniform when you’re here,” he deadpans and Peter’s mouth goes into a line as he huffs a quick sigh, trying not to laugh. 

  
“Fine, if it’s what you want, you’re the boss,” he retorts, turning on his heel and strutting away towards the door, intentionally giving Tony a good view of his ass. 

  
Tony admires it for a moment before quickly following as he disappears through the door. He keeps following as Peter heads straight towards the sleeping quarters and then right into Tony’s bedroom, dropping his bag on the floor beside the closet door and kicking his shoes off next to it. Tony doesn’t even register where they are until Peter flops down on his stomach on the bed, head on his arms as he looks at Tony still standing at the door with his hands in his pockets. 

  
“Right Mr. Parker, where shall we begin?” Tony asks with a smirk when he finally recovers his senses and Peter shrugs slightly, looking a little nervous. Tony decides it’s time to lay a few ground rules. “I want to be very clear and serious right now, you can stop any time, at any time, for any reason ok? And I don’t just mean tonight or this weekend, that’s an all the time thing, you have autonomy here.”

  
Peter rolls on to his side and sits up at this, looking at Tony more seriously and he nods a moment later.

  
“I know, I’ve always known, I know you won’t hurt me or make me do anything I don’t want to do,” he replies, sliding back off the bed and standing up and walking over to stand in front of Tony. “But I want this, I’m telling you I want this ok?”

  
Tony nods himself, a flurry of emotions going through him, body entranced by the dark brown eyes on his, holding him in place. He does feel better though, having had this conversation because he had been harboring a near constant fear that he was influencing Peter into this relationship too much for his own selfish desires. But it’s clear that Peter means what he is saying, that he is sure, confident in his choice and Tony relaxes, releasing a breath he didn’t know he was holding in fear that Peter was about to change his mind. 

  
Stepping a little closer to Tony, Peter about presses their bodies together from chest to knee and leans in close enough that they start sharing air and only seconds later Tony’s hand lands on the back of his head and pulls him in for a rough kiss, tongue licking into Peter’s mouth immediately and Peter moans loudly, hands gripping the front of Tony’s t-shirt. 

  
Tony releases Peter’s hair to firmly place both hands on his black jean covered ass, squeezing with more intent again and Peter’s hips press into his, breathing becoming panting quickly as his hands slide up Tony’s t-shirt, forcing the fabric up. Tony takes over, wanting to avoid getting blinded again and pulls it off before reaching for the hem of Peter’s shirt but he finds it gone already, Peter flinging it off to the side before diving back towards Tony to recapture his mouth. His kissing has definitely gotten to a professional level and he’s mastered the art of making it filthy, something he starts doing now, sending jolts of arousal down Tony’s back. 

  
Refocusing his attention on Peter’s ass, something he can now acknowledge he’s beyond obsessed with, he pushes his hands down inside his tight jeans and boxers to squeeze it properly and Peter moans and laughs softly at the same time, pulling away from the kiss.

  
“Ok what is it with you and my ass?” He asks with a laugh, eyes black and twinkling in the dim lamplight in the room, fingers trailing down the side of Tony’s neck to splay on the older man’s chest. 

  
“It’s literally the perfect specimen of an ass. If Steve Rogers has America’s ass, you have planet earths ass,” Tony responds seriously and Peter’s head drops back as he laughs harder. 

  
Not one to pass up an opportunity, Tony latches on to his neck immediately, kissing and nipping his way down it and Peter’s laugh turns into a breathy groan. He pulls up a nice pretty hickey while squeezing Peter’s ass still and the groan gets louder and Peter’s voice cracks at the dueling sensations of pleasure and pain. Tony knows with Peter’s metabolism the mark will have healed by the time he leaves on Sunday, which almost makes him a little sad even though it would be dangerous as hell if it stayed visible. 

Satisfied, and Peter now a pliable mess in his hands, he pulls his hands out of the younger man’s pants and brings them between them to start removing those same pants. Peter responds by resuming his filthy kisses and working on Tony’s belt and fly himself. 

  
Nudging gently Tony starts pushing Peter back towards the bed, releasing him to let him flop back on it and yanking his pants down almost immediately, struggling slightly since they were tighter. Peter laughs and starts helping as best he can and they about knock their heads together trying to get them completely off of Peter’s foot. Tony feels a little sweaty from the effort but still thinks those pants are a necessity despite their difficulty as he turns to Peter’s underwear. Rather than his usual shapeless boxers, Peter had gone with a tight pair of black boxer briefs, likely to avoid bulkiness and discomfort under the tight jeans but damn if they don’t look sexy as hell on him. His hard cock is a solid line towards his hip and Tony can’t help but wish he wore these all the time. He considers saying as much but realizes he can’t without possibly letting it slip that he knows what underwear Peter wears every single day since he sees him every day without Peter knowing. 

  
Not wanting to dwell on that since guilt was trying to push at his mind again, Tony refocuses on removing the tight elastic garment, following them down with a line of kisses on Peter’s thigh before tossing them aside and pushing Peter’s legs up, bending his knees and opening him up to Tony’s wandering mouth. He knows what the end game is here, but he also knows that Peter is gonna need some prep, some serious foreplay and maybe even a pre-game orgasm to help him relax. 

  
Tony quickly comes up with a plan and quickly leans over to reach into the side table to grab lube and a condom, tossing both on the bed before he starts making more of a mark with his mouth, using his stubble to brush past the sensitive skin on his inner thighs, across his stomach and back down before finally taking Peter into his mouth. The younger man moans and writhes on the bed, already coming apart and Tony sucks him down a few times before wetting his finger with lube and pressing it against his hole and starting to push in while sucking again. 

  
Peter’s head pops up off the bed, wrecked but clear eyed enough to look at Tony questioningly. 

  
“Tony?” He asks with a broken voice, the question conveying much more than just the one word. 

  
Tony slides his mouth off to reply but continues to push his finger the rest of the way in, pressing upward to start massaging Peter’s prostate. 

  
“Relax, I need to make sure you’re ready, I don’t want to hurt you,” he responds and Peter nods, looking a little nervous before his eyes go hooded as Tony’s finger reaches its goal. 

  
Tony wraps his lips around Peter’s cock again and starts sucking with purpose, leaning on his elbows to grasp the base, squeezing slightly and only minutes later Peter starts warning him of his impending orgasm. He wasn’t trying to hold back this time so Tony isn’t surprised when it happens faster, just swallows it down but doesn’t let go even when Peter starts to twitch and writhe from over sensitivity. Tony knows it’ll pass and he will get back to fully hard and aroused again, but this time won’t be so close to the edge and he can already feel the muscle around his finger relaxing more after he comes, the release spreading through his body. 

  
As soon as he starts to feel the shift in Peter’s body, dick hardening in his mouth again Tony starts pushing a second finger in. Normally, with an experienced partner finger preparation wasn’t usually necessary but Peter wasn’t experienced, this was his first time and the prep was just to help him learn to relax, to get an idea of what it would feel like to have Tony penetrate him. The goal was to make it hurt as little as possible because it was going to hurt a little, it always did the first time. 

  
Peter’s legs jump at the added intrusion and his head pops up again, looking down at Tony nervously but he doesn’t say anything. He knows he can, if he wants to, but he doesn’t. 

  
Tony continues to blow him, though with a little less intent, just enough to keep him hard and interested while he moves the fingers in and out slowly, adding a third quickly and Peter winces, teeth worrying his bottom lip and Tony feels compelled to say something. 

  
“Pete, you can stop if you want to, if you don’t want to do this anymore,” he reassures the younger man, stilling his fingers and Peter’s eyes stay tightly closed but he shakes his head quickly before replying in a tight voice.

  
“No, I’m good, I want to do this, it’s just… it’s not really what I was expecting.”

  
“Full honesty here, this is just my fingers right now, and I know it’s not comfortable but I’m going to do my best to make it hurt as little as possible but I have to tell you that it’s going to hurt when it’s my dick, because you aren’t used to it and if it’s too much for you now…” Tony explains gently before getting cut off.

  
“Yes, Tony, I know, I know it’s gonna hurt ok, but that doesn’t mean I want to stop,” Peter growls out before finally opening his eyes to meet Tony’s. “I want this, I want you, I’m fine.”

  
Tony sighs softly, but chooses to respect what Peter has decided, but also thinking that if it clearly becomes too much for him, Tony himself will pull the plug and stop. He absolutely didn’t want to cause him serious pain or ruin him in anyway. 

  
With that he resumes his ministrations, mouth sliding back down Peter’s dick, which had definitely softened a bit as his mind focused on his discomfort and Tony holds his fingers still while he gets him back fully hard, knowing that having a distraction would help. 

  
Peter stays quiet, breathing hard at times as Tony’s fingers start moving again, sliding in and out carefully and slowly and Tony can feel him trying to relax and he intentionally does his best to massage his prostrate each time, another distraction. 

  
He keeps going for a long while, his jaw starting to ache, hand cramping but he doesn't stop until Peter finally speaks, head back up again. 

  
“Are… how long are you going to…” He asks brokenly and Tony pulls his mouth off and debates his options. Peter was still pretty tight but was continuing on with this going to make it any better? He’s not sure. He’s still scared of hurting him more than he should, of not having him prepared enough and Peter seems to read all of this on his face and gives him an exasperated look. 

  
“Tony, I’m good, get up here, I’m not going to break,” Peter demands, sitting up to try to pull the older man up between his legs and Tony resists slightly. He gives in though, deciding they could at least try and both had the choice to stop if they wanted to. 

  
Fighting off Peter’s hands, he stands up beside the bed and takes his own pants off, forgotten as they were and reaches for the condom, sliding it on with practiced ease before slicking himself with far more lube than was probably necessary before resuming his attention on Peter. 

  
Peter who was sprawled on the bed in front of him, legs bent and wide open and inviting, cock hard against his abdomen, and panting breaths filling the sound in the room. In fact, it actually looks like Peter is a lot more turned on than he was just a moment ago when Tony was sucking his dick and fingering him. He almost laughs as he realizes that watching Tony get undressed and touch himself had been a big turn on for Peter, but considering all of their dick pics and dirty talk by text, he should hardly be surprised. In the span of a week Peter had conditioned his body this way. 

  
“If I knew that was all it took,” Tony says jokingly and Peter growls, sitting up rapidly and cursing at him as he yanks Tony down on top of him.

  
“Shut up and fuck me.”

  
Not wanting to disappoint, Tony lines himself up and licks his way into Peter’s mouth at the same time and Peter’s hands land on his hips, holding on tightly in anticipation. 

  
As Tony starts to breach him, the fingers tighten and Tony knows he’s gonna have some bruises tomorrow but he doesn’t stop him or stop moving himself. Peter is impossibly, insanely, almost painfully tight and Tony has to stop kissing him just to breath, wincing himself. He feels Peter take a deep breath below him, blowing it out in a whoosh as he tries to focus on relaxing and the way eases a bit, letting Tony slide in a bit further, the tightness more enjoyable with each deep breath. When he finally bottoms out, they are both breathing hard, Tony’s arms shaking with the effort of holding himself up, Peter’s legs shaking from the sensation of being filled, his body opened. 

  
Tony watches his face carefully, not moving at all, as the pain and burn makes his jaw tight and eyes squeeze closed but he keeps taking deep breathes, trying to relax more and more. Tony leans in to press kisses to his lips, nose and cheeks but Peter stops him, turning his face away slightly.

  
“Don’t, just give me a minute,” he says through his teeth, another shaky deep breath pulled in through his nose. 

  
“Do you want me to pull out?” Tony asks seriously, ready to stop if necessary.

  
“No, don’t,” Peter says quietly, forcing his eyes open, the corners a little wet from unshed tears. “I want this, I want you.” He repeats, the same thing he’d been saying all night.

  
“Peter I don’t doubt that, trust me I don’t, but that isn’t gonna make this easier, and maybe we need to try again another time,” he suggests, thinking that perhaps a few toys and a plug might help him get used to the feeling in a better way. 

  
“Tony, I’m fine,” he growls out, “honestly, move.” 

  
Tony shakes his head.

  
“Peter, you clearly aren’t fine, we should stop,” he starts and Peter immediately tries to cut him off, reiterating that he’s fine when Tony has an idea. It’d been a while since he’s been with a virgin, particularly a virgin guy so it’s not a surprise he didn’t consider this before but he figures it’s worth a try now. “Wait, I have an idea.”

  
He carefully but quickly pulls out and Peter stares at him disappointed but then Tony starts motioning for him to move, to get into a new position and his face becomes confused.

  
“Turn over and get on your stomach, head on the pillows, put a pillow under your hips as well, this might make it more comfortable and better for you,” Tony instructs him and after a moment of hesitation and a furrowed brow thrown the older man’s direction, Peter rolls and awkwardly crawls up the bed and gets into position as told.   
Tony follows him and kneels between his knees before lying down carefully on top of Peter, lining himself up again while lifting Peter’s hips slightly. He starts pressing in again and he’s still tight, but it’s a little easier this time, his body angled more comfortably but Tony knows he’s really made the right decision when Peter jolts as the head of his cock presses right across his prostate. The new position and angle are perfect for hitting that spot and almost immediately Peter relaxes more, his body taking Tony better and he gasps loudly. 

  
Feeling smug, Tony presses kisses across his shoulders as he pulls out slightly and slides back in with the same force, repeating the pressure on that sensitive spot inside of Peter and it earns him a moan this time. 

  
Feeling him fully relax around him, hips lifting as he starts to push back on Tony’s cock, Tony balances on his hands and starts moving with intent, still keeping it slow and gentle, but aiming each time and Peter starts moaning more, voice keening at times when Tony really lands a good pass. When Peter’s hand slides underneath his body, arm moving as he starts jerking his own cock in the same rhythm as Tony’s hips, the older man finally gives in and starts fucking him in earnest. When Peter was in pain, Tony couldn’t really focus on himself or his own pleasure, he was too worried but now, now he was all in, desire and lust coloring his thoughts and movements completely and he leans back more on his knees, pushing up on his hands to thrust harder and watch as his cock moves in and out of Peter’s perfect ass. 

  
“Fuck Pete, you feel so fucking amazing baby, I’ve wanted your ass for so long,” Tony breathes out, moaning as he rolls his hips slightly with each thrust, relishing in feeling Peter’s body holding him tightly and pushing back to meet each of his movements. 

  
Peter moans louder in response, chanting oh fuck Tony like a prayer, rising in volume each time until he starts to tense, words being replaced by short sharp yells as he starts coming. Tony feels it thoroughly, Peter’s body clenching around him, limbs jerking and tensing with the impact of it and he follows him over the edge, his voice breaking on Peter’s name as he empties into the condom. 

  
He keeps swirling his hips slowly as he comes down from it, wanting this to never end, to stay inside Peter forever but when the younger man goes boneless beneath him he starts to slide out anyway. 

  
Quickly removing the condom, Tony grabs some tissues and cleans himself before deciding that a shower would be better, at least for Peter since Tony had used basically half a bottle of lube and that shit got uncomfortable pretty quickly when it started to dry. The trouble was, Peter was dead weight on the bed, not sleeping, but not exactly cooperating with moving either. 

  
Tony flops beside him, deciding to give him a few minutes and lays on his side facing Peter trailing his fingers over his back, wanting to keep physical contact.   
When he glances up at his face he finds Peter’s brown eyes staring back at him, curious, nervous and unsure and Tony smiles gently at him, pushing in to kiss him softly. 

  
“You ok?” He asks carefully and Peter seems to consider it before nodding and finally moving, his arms still clearly jelly like but he manages to get on his side to return the kiss. 

  
“Yes,” he finally says, using his words. “I’m good, thank you.”

  
Tony smiles and laughs softly.

  
“You don’t have to thank me, pretty sure we both got something out of that,” he says with a smirk and Peter shakes his head slightly. 

  
“No, thank you for not giving up on me, for caring about me and taking care of me,” he says quietly and Tony stops laughing. Those pesky feelings well in his chest again and for a split second he almost says those pivotal three words but chickens out, a fear of being rejected or not having them returned like a bucket of cold water over his head. 

  
“You’re welcome,” he says instead and then adds, “we should have a shower.”

  
Peter stares at him understandingly, somehow just rolling with Tony’s weird awkwardness in that moment and he nods and starts sitting up. He seems to note the mess he made himself on the pillow and throws Tony an apologetic look as he tries to get off the bed the rest of the way without leaving lube all over the place but Tony just pulls the cover and pillow off, leaving the clean sheets on underneath and then pulls Peter into the bathroom and into the stall. 

  
They kiss for a long time under the hot water, Tony’s hands gently washing Peter clean before they grow tired enough and dry off and head back to the bed and under the sheet. 

  
Peter is asleep quickly, exhausted from all of the adrenaline and Tony relishes having him in his arms until his own eyes grow too heavy and he follows suit. 


	6. Chapter 6

It starts with soft kisses, pressing across his collar bone and down his chest that rouse Tony from sleep. As he starts to drift into consciousness he feels a leg and body moving over him as Peter straddles his prone form. He knows damn right well that Pete can sense that he’s awake but he keeps up the pretense of being asleep hoping that he will just keep on doing what he’s doing. One thing is for sure, he’s glad Peter seems perfectly fine after last night, no residual fears or reticence. 

  
While Tony was perfectly happy to just lay there and accept the attention, Peter is less pleased with this idea and only minutes later bites down on one of Tony’s nipples, making his eyes pop open and his body jolt in surprise. 

  
“Hey!” Tony growls out, voice deep and raspy from sleep.

  
“Oh hey, I didn’t know you were awake,” Peter replies, blinking down at him with big innocent eyes for as long as he can before he cracks and starts giggling.

  
Not willing to take this lying down, Tony moves fast to get ahold of his waist, flipping them and then poking at and tickling Peter’s abdomen relentlessly for as long as he can, making the younger man squeal and flail trying to dislodge him. 

  
“STOP STOP TONY STOP I’M GONNA PEE!” Peter starts yelling and Tony stops for the sake of his mattress but quickly grabs ahold of Pete’s wrists, holding his hands above his head and leaning down over him with a serious look on his face.

  
“Truce?” He asks and Peter nods quickly, looking a touch desperate and Tony takes a few extra moments to really make him suffer, narrowing his eyes at him while the legs beneath him start squirming slightly. “Fine.” He relents eventually, releasing Peter who bounds off the bed and into the bathroom, groaning loudly in relief. 

  
Laughing to himself, Tony stretches on the bed, pulling the kinks out of his back and legs, working his jaw side to side to try to ease the ache caused by events from the night before. When Peter comes out of the bathroom, Tony quickly replaces him and when he returns he finds Peter lying on the bed on his stomach, ass strategically pointed towards the direction of the bathroom so it would be the first thing Tony would see, and legs spread just enough to be inviting. He's doing his best to be nonchalant on the bed, chin resting on his arms and eyes on the opposing window as though he’s just checking the weather or watching the birds but Tony knows better by the small smirk trying to come to life in the corner of his mouth. 

  
Huffing a quiet laugh but not willing to refuse the gift in front of him he quickly crawls on to the bed behind Peter, knees between his legs as he rests his hands by his slight shoulders and leans down to press kisses to the back of his neck. Peter sighs softly and turns his head enough to give Tony access to his jaw and an awkward kiss on his mouth. Lowering himself down, he tries not to crush Peter (though it wouldn’t really be possible anyway) and circles his arms around Peter’s on the bed, nuzzling into his hair and kissing the back of his head once. 

  
“What do you want to do today?” He asks quietly, taking deep breaths of the scent of shampoo and faint Axe body wash from the other beneath him. 

  
Peter smiles faintly and rubs his cheek on Tony’s arm, seeming to settle in happily in the Tony shaped blanket he found himself in. 

  
“This,” he answers simply. 

  
“Just this?” Tony asks cheekily. “Nothing else in this bed, just this?”

  
Peter’s laugh vibrates through Tony and he turns his head enough to look at the older man sideways.

  
“Definitely more than this, but I want to stay in here, with you,” he replies and he gets a kiss on the cheek and shoulder in response. Tony thinks this is a splendid idea, his cock does as well but then Peter’s stomach has to go and get involved, growling loudly, startling them both and making Peter blush. 

  
“Breakfast?” Tony offers with a laugh and Peter nods.

  
“Would seem so,” he deadpans in response and Tony laughs harder. 

  
The next few minutes are spent scrounging for pants and shirts before they both pad down the hall barefoot to the kitchen with suitably messy hair and matching stupid grins. They keep a distance between them when they get to where the cameras are and Tony inwardly curses them, wanting so badly to be affectionate with Peter wherever he could but shutting the cameras off would once again bring about questions he doesn’t want to answer. So instead he focuses on finding food for them both and Peter waits a minute before nudging Tony out of the way to take on the task of cooking. Tony still wasn’t very good at it, the disaster of an omelette he made Pepper still something she mentioned in passing.

  
Turfed, he sits down on a stool to watch Peter as he scrambles eggs and fries bacon. 

  
“So, do you do the cooking at home?” He asks conversationally, knowing full well that Pete and his aunt ate out for dinner almost every night because she couldn’t cook to save her life but he was curious as to why Peter didn’t take on the task since he clearly knew how. 

  
“Um, no,” he replies, glancing at Tony once. “My aunt May seems to think she has to take care of me, be a proper mom including cooking for me, but she’s not very good at it and I don’t want to make her feel bad so we eat out a lot.”

  
“Yeah, I still remember that walnut date loaf,” Tony says with a soft shudder and Peter laughs. 

  
“She tries her best, she does, she didn’t actually sign up to be a mom, it just kinda happened but I’m grateful for her and everything she’s done for me,” he says with a wistful expression. 

  
Tony kind of gets it, but doesn’t at the same time. He was already on his own when his parents died, already independent, so losing them wasn't the same kind of blow as a small child would have to feel. 

  
“You’re lucky to have each other,” he says honestly, because Peter was. Tony may have been independent when his parents died but that didn’t mean he wasn’t left alone when they were gone. He didn’t have family to fall back on, to be there for him, probably why he has so many bad habits now. Including a very distinct inability to have a proper solid relationship, to fully commit to anyone. And yet here he was with Peter, he’d never given so much of himself to anyone before and he did it without realizing it or regrets. For Peter the sexual relationship was new, daunting at times, but for Tony it was the other intimacy that was so new to him. They were learning so much together it seemed. 

  
When everything is ready, Peter serves up a plate for each of them and sets them down on the counter before sitting down on the stool next to Tony who doesn’t miss the way the younger man visibly winces when sitting down. Tony wants to ask how bad it is, if there is anything he can do to help but can’t with the camera in the kitchen catching their conversation as well. 

  
So instead they eat quietly, making only small talk about Peter’s project since that was the ruse as to why he was there anyway and then they clean up the dishes side by side at the sink. 

  
Wordlessly, Peter just follows Tony back to the bedroom, hands only brushing once in the hallway but otherwise no outward signs of anything between them. They save that until the door is closed and then come together like a magnet to metal, bodies pressing from chest to knee as they kiss deeply. 

  
Clothing slides off with ease this time, something they were getting better at and fingers reach to touch everywhere they can. They come back tight together, erections trapped between their bodies, kissing with variations between soft gentle presses to filthy and wet. Tony doesn’t even think when he uses both hands to grasp Peter’s ass, pulling him even closer and he gets a quick hiss and a tense jump in response and then he remembers Peter’s wince from earlier.

  
Pulling away from the kiss, he lets go of Peter’s ass and looks down at him, dark brown eyes looking up at him questioningly. 

  
“Are you hurting?” He asks, holding Peter’s gaze to keep him from lying and he gets a nod in response. “Badly? Should I be concerned?”

  
“No, no, honestly,” Peter replies quickly and seeing the doubt on Tony’s face he quickly grasps it in both hands to keep their eye contact so Tony knows he’s being completely honest. “It’s fine, I’m ok, I promise.” 

  
Tony sighs softly, not feeling particularly good about himself for causing his lover pain but he accepts Peter’s word that he’s going to be ok and it’s not any terrible damage. 

  
“Ok, still though, maybe we take a break from that, give you a little time,” he offers and Peter looks a bit disappointed. “Pete, if you're sore, it’s not a good idea to make that worse.”

  
“I know, I do, and you’re right,” Peter replies, still looking disappointed. “I just like feeling you inside of me,” he admits a moment later, much more softly. 

  
“Oh we aren’t taking a permanent break,” Tony offers, arousal creeping down his spine at Peter’s admission. “Just a little one for today.”

  
That earns him a smirk and Peter circles his arms around Tony’s neck, leaning in even closer. 

  
“Or just this morning, maybe a few hours this afternoon, since I heal fast and all that,” he points out and Tony about growls. Yes he felt guilty for causing Peter pain, but that was generally what happened the first time, but if Pete was ok with it and he seemed fine otherwise then Tony could easily admit that he was desperate to fuck him again. He wanted it so badly he could taste it and it makes him pull Peter back into a filthy kiss, tongue licking into his mouth and pulling a groan out of his throat. 

  
Reaching down, he hooks his hands under Peter’s thighs, picking him up to carry him over to the bed where he deposits him on his back, staying right pressed against him the entire time. Peter wraps his legs around Tony’s waist and ruts his hips up, sliding their erections together and they both moan loudly. 

  
Tongue going back into Peter’s mouth, Tony starts pressing and rutting with his own hips, knees pressed into the bed as he thrusts harder, feeling the dampness between them as they both start leaking. Each move makes Peter a little louder until he’s no longer kissing Tony but crying out loudly, fingers gripping Tony’s hair almost painfully as his head goes back and Tony latches on to create another hickey, the first one already fading. 

  
Peter comes first, heels digging into the backs of Tony’s thighs as the warm wetness spreads between them, making their bodies slippery and tipping the older man over the edge as well. 

  
Both of them panting loudly, they sag boneless in a tangle of limbs on the bed for a few minutes. When Tony regains his senses he nudges Peter’s nose with his own, getting him a smile and a quick kiss and then a surprised shout as he yanks Peter up off the bed, carrying him into the bathroom where he gently sits him on the counter and leaves him there while he quickly gets a washcloth and cleans both of them up. Satisfied, he picks Peter back up again, the younger man howling with laughter at this point and carries him back to the bed where he gets them back into the same position. 

  
Peter’s giggles are quieted slowly as they start making out again, though it’s much less urgent for a long time and they begin to roll about the bed, hands all over each other like a pair of teenagers. Except Peter is a teenager Tony reminds himself, but he felt like one himself, making out for over an hour naked, bodies sliding together and the sounds varying from moans to sighs. 

  
When they are thoroughly turned on again, Tony goes down on Peter, giving him another screaming orgasm before Peter returns the favour, his skills already improving as Tony about loses his mind at the way the kid was using his tongue and lips. 

  
Lunch consists of Tony going to the kitchen and retrieving whatever his hands land on first and bringing it back to the bedroom. There is a chorus of warning bells in the back of his mind that even if he and Peter weren’t visibly doing anything that the cameras were catching, there was still more than enough evidence to make anyone watching very suspicious but he’s so wrapped up in Peter, so obsessed with him that he doesn’t let it distract him. 

  
Instead he just sits with Peter on the floor of the bedroom while they snack on crackers and cheese and kale that only Tony eats while Peter wrinkles his nose at him.   
They curl together on the bed after lunch, kissing languidly until they both fall asleep for a nap and Tony knows he’s never been this blissed out in his life. He feels giddy, irrational, and so wrapped up in his Peter bubble that he doesn’t think there is anything that could possibly burst it. 

  
When they wake up, they get dressed and wander down to the theatre to watch a movie or some Netflix or something, Tony ordering Thai food on the way that they eat flopped on the couch together. It’s not even twenty minutes after that Peter is on Tony’s lap, their mouths attached as their bodies press and roll together. Hands down Peter’s pants, Tony grips his ass again and it earns him a moan, which he takes as a good sign that Peter was feeling a lot less sore. 

  
Wordlessly, he lifts Peter off of him and grabs his hand to lead him out of the room, War of the Worlds still playing on the screen, food containers on the floor as they scurry towards the bedroom and slam the door closed. Cloth protests as they start ripping at each other’s shirts and pants and Tony doesn’t hesitate or even think when he pushes Peter towards the bed and gets him on his hands and knees, mouth pressing kisses to each side of his ass before he quickly grabs the lube and a condom, sliding it on immediately and slicking himself up before he kneels between Peter’s legs and lines himself up. One hand reaching around the smaller man to start stroking his cock, Tony starts pushing in, feeling the ring of muscle resisting at first and Peter groans through his teeth, body tensing at the intrusion but Tony pushes on, knowing that it will get better. He intentionally rolls his hips slightly, aiming to massage the one spot inside of Peter that would make the difference and when he hits it he gets a different kind of groan in response. 

  
Feeling emboldened and loving the sight in front of him, Tony releases Peter’s cock and starts moving, keeping each thrust purposeful but devouring the feeling of sliding in and out of him, of finally fucking him properly in the way Tony had been desperate to do for so long. He’s mesmerized as he watches his cock sliding in and out, each hand gripping a handful of Peter’s ass and Peter takes over stroking himself, back arching as he starts pressing back on Tony as he gets closer. When he knows he can take it, when he feels Peter relax almost completely Tony ups the pace to an almost brutal level, skin slapping lewdly in the room as Peter’s voice goes up several octaves, almost whining as he cries out with each slamming thrust into him. 

  
Tony comes first this time, the entirety of it so overwhelming that he can’t even hold back and he starts shaking with the force of his orgasm, the sound from his throat animalistic. His legs wobble as he tries to stay upright to keep pushing into Peter when he feels him clench around him, the one arm holding him up collapsing as he comes, voice breaking on Tony’s name. 

  
Hands down, the best fuck Tony has ever had. 

  
He feels like he’s going to pass out as he carefully pulls out of Peter, stumbling and fumbling as he pulls the younger man along with him to the bathroom where he pushes him into the shower as he strips the condom off and throws it in the trash before joining his partner. 

  
They collapse against each other under the hot water, holding one another up, both breathing hard but Tony knew that if they didn’t do this quickly, if they gave in and collapsed on the bed first, they both would probably be out and boneless and he’d wake up with the condom still on his dick. Never fun when that happened. 

  
They make quick work of getting cleaned up, though still fumbling and clumsy and uncoordinated and then they stumble back out to the bed, pulling the soiled sheet off the top before collapsing together onto it with no grace whatsoever. Peter’s half on his stomach with one leg across Tony’s while Tony’s head isn’t even on the pillows but they don’t care. 

  
The last thing Tony does, that he has energy for is telling Friday to turn the lights off. 


	7. Chapter 7

Tony is the first to wake up, something that surprises him since Peter seemed to have a lot more energy than he did at the best of times. But when he cracks his eyes open Sunday morning, the younger man is still sound asleep beside him. He’s on his stomach on the bed, naked as the day he was born with his face towards Tony and nose whistling ever so slightly. 

  
Tony can’t help but smile softly as he rolls onto his side to really look at him, knowing that Peter’s senses would likely alert him soon enough that he was being watched so he wants to really take it all in while he has the chance. 

  
The sunlight pouring through the window drapes his body in a golden glow, each curve highlighted with copper flashes igniting through his hair. His eyelashes are dark fans on his cheeks, lips pursed slightly and freckles darker on his translucent skin. Tony’s never seen a picture of Peter’s parents, but man does his family have some damn good genes. Though he knows the muscles lining his back, arms, legs and ass are far more related to the bite, they are all Peter nonetheless. 

  
As predicted, Peter starts to rouse after a few minutes of Tony’s scrutiny, mumbling something unintelligible while his brow furrows and Tony gives in to touching as well as looking. Starting at Peter’s shoulder he very delicately and gently trails his fingers down his back, the skin twitching under the light contact, goosebumps left in the path behind. He carries on his trail as far as he can reach, down Peter’s ass and then back up again, his eyes watching the physical reaction the entire way until he gets back to his shoulder and is met with brown curious eyes staring at him. 

  
Not dissuaded, Tony then trails his fingers down Peter’s temple and cheek, tucking them under his chin to lift his face enough so Tony can kiss him, slow, gentle and loving. He feels Peter smile into the kiss, moving slightly closer and humming softly. The sound, the feel of Peter’s lips makes something possessive come over Tony and he moves in quickly, deepening the kiss while nudging Peter on to his back so he can crawl on top of him, nestling between his legs. Peter goes along willingly, happily, arms winding around Tony’s neck and legs around Tony’s thighs naturally. 

  
A flurry of emotions are fighting for attention in Tony’s chest, the ones he’s been keeping in the ignore pile as usual, but also a strange sadness and panic. Sadness that today is Sunday, Peter goes home today and panic that this will be it, something will happen and this heaven, this perfection will be over. Tony isn’t quite sure what he would do if he lost Peter, if he wasn’t a part of his life anymore and the sheer thought of loss makes his heart pound and throat tight. Outwardly he reacts by awkwardly wrapping his arms around Peters shoulders, holding on tightly and kissing him harder, neither action going unnoticed by the younger man who pulls back, fighting off Tony’s advancing lips to stare up at him confused and concerned.

  
“What’s wrong? Has something happened?” He asks quietly and his own panic seems to settle over him, showing in his eyes. Tony isn’t sure what he’s thinking has happened but he’s more concerned with getting control over himself.

  
“Nothing, nothing, it’s just, it’s Sunday, you have to go home today and frankly that sucks,” he says bluntly, being at least partially honest.

  
Peter visibly relaxes and gives him an understanding look, lips turning down in disappointment as he absorbs this fact himself. 

  
“Yeah I know, it does, I don’t want to leave, but I can come back next weekend right?” 

  
Tony responds first with a kiss, a bloom of joy in his chest that Peter wants to come back and then he uses his words.

  
“Of course, no question, you can come here anytime you want, you know that,” He replies easily, lessening his grip with his arms, instead haloing them around Peter’s head and balancing on his elbows. “I want you here,” he adds after, a shiver going down his back at his bare honesty. It’s not really that big of a statement for most people but for Tony Stark, it’s kind of huge because he’s very used to people wanting him but he’s never had or really wanted to tell someone else that he wants them, needs them. Peter’s responding smile sends a warmth through his chest, an acceptance rather than a rejection that gives him a great deal of comfort and relief. 

  
He knows that at some point they will have to get decent, get breakfast, get Peter packed since Happy was coming to collect him around noon, but Tony can’t be assed to do any of that yet. It was only 10:00, they had time, so he resumes kissing the younger man, an act that gets full approval and Peter’s fingers lace into his hair, holding on gently at first but tightening when Tony’s tongue slides into his mouth. 

  
Tony loves feeling Peter get hard between them, his own cock responding from the sensation as they rut lazily for a while, relishing their last morning together for the week and dragging it out. As though committing every part of him to memory, Tony’s fingers trail over whatever skin he can reach, touching and squeezing and feeling every muscle as it moves, sharp bone and curve that Peter has. 

  
His hips speed up slowly, their panting breaths intermingling between kisses and Tony prepares for them to get off like this again, not wanting to push his luck, no matter how bad he wanted more, every time. So he’s surprised when Peter speaks up, his legs spreading further and rising to wrap more about Tony’s waist, opening himself up invitingly. 

  
“Fuck me, I want to feel you,” he whispers harshly, cheeks still reddening at saying dirty things despite what they had done all weekend. Tony prays he never loses that sweetness and innocence though he also does rather love when Peter curses like a seasoned sailor. It’s a fun dichotomy that just makes Peter that much more special. 

  
Surprised at the request and the clear indications he was making at what position he wanted to be in, Tony lifts up on his elbows again to look down at him, gauging his facial expression, his eyes for anything he should be concerned about. Peter just stares right back at him, clearly determined despite his red cheeks. 

  
“You sure, like this?” Tony asks anyway, wanting verbal consent since he didn’t exactly ask last night. 

  
Peter nods first but then says yes quietly but determinately. Satisfied with his answer, Tony gets up on his hands and knees to crawl over to the side table to grab the lube and a condom but a hand stops him as he reaches for the second one. 

  
“No, don’t, I want to feel it,” Peter admits quietly, blushing furiously again but eyes still full of determination. 

  
“Mr. Parker, have you never paid attention in sex-ed? Condoms are for your protection,” Tony states, inwardly cringing at his own tone but weirdly he wants to make sure Peter knows this, knows how to protect and take care of himself. Though he tries not to think about Peter using this knowledge in the future to fuck someone else.

  
“Do you have anything I should be worried about because I know I’m clean,” Peter states evenly, giving him a look that said he didn’t appreciate Tony’s tone either.

  
“No, I do not, I get tested regularly, but, it’s kind of a big thing and not to be taken lightly, not to mention messy,” Tony replies and Peter considers it. 

  
“I know, but I trust you and I want to, I want to know what it feels like, but I can assure you that I am aware of what condoms are for and that they should always be used to protect myself with new partners or whatever,” he trails off, cheeks flaming again as he flippantly talks about sleeping with other people when he’d only just lost his virginity two days ago. “If you don’t want to because you don’t feel comfortable, it’s fine, I get it.”

  
Now it was Tony’s turn to consider it. Yes he was clean, he knew that, Friday told him pretty much weekly after scanning him, but barebacking was still kind of a big deal, particularly this early in a relationship. At the same time, he didn’t really know how much time he was going to get with Peter, a thought that sends a stab of pain through his heart, and did he really want to pass up this chance when he had it? Peter was asking, he was consenting, Tony was all in with him, he was committed to Peter so that wasn’t an issue, so if they wanted to, there was no reason not to. 

  
“Ok,” Tony says after a moment, dropping the condom back into the drawer but keeping the lube as he crawls back over to Peter and on top of him, resuming kissing him and rutting his hips to get them back into the rhythm, to reset the mood. 

  
Trailing kisses down Peter’s throat, and secretly happy to still see his last hickey partially visible, Tony pops the bottle open and props himself up on one hand to be able to slick himself up but suddenly the bottle is gone and Peter wordlessly takes over. Tony can’t help but just stare down at him in surprise as he pours the fluid out into his palm, looking at it for a moment, as though interested in how it would move in his hand before reaching down to wrap his fingers around Tony, spreading it over him thoroughly while looking up at Tony with one brow raised in an amused way at Tony’s reaction. 

  
“Ok then,” Tony deadpans when Peter has got him nice and wet and Peter laughs once, the sound swallowed by Tony’s mouth as he repositions his body on him, lining himself up and starting to push in. There is resistance and Peter is definitely tighter this way, but Tony is almost completely braindead for a second at the sensation of actually feeling Peter, hot and tight around him. He moves slowly, Peter adjusting to him better, his quick learning coming into play again and he moans into Tony’s mouth when he bottoms out, fingers tight in his hair again. 

  
Tony waits until he’s relaxed enough to move, kissing him languidly and only when he feels Peter’s own hips moving, trying to find friction does he start rolling his. Just enough to make them both moan loudly but still keeping it slow, savoring every sensation, committing it to memory because Tony knew this was it for at least a week. Once again, he wasn’t all that good with patience or not having what he wanted when he wanted it. 

  
When the pressure starts to feel uncomfortable, both of them desperate for more he uses his knees and starts moving with more intent, pulling out almost completely and thrusting back in at a steady rate. Wanting to make it even easier on Peter, for him to feel more he balances up on his hands and hooks an arm under one of Peter’s knees, lifting it and opening him up fully. 

  
“oh fuuuck,” Peter groans out at the new position and rate with which Tony was plowing into him. Tony snaps his hips and watches Peter, his face, his reactions, the way his chest was heaving with his breathing, eyes tightly closed as one of his hands reaches up to press against the headboard to keep them from progressing closer to it from the force of their movements. The other wraps around his cock, stroking it fast, wrist twisting with each move, dots of pre-cum all over his stomach already. 

  
For the second time in a row, Tony comes first, body and mind so completely overwhelmed that he can’t hold back and he buries himself as deeply inside of Peter as he can, voice breaking as he tells Peter it’s happening, so he can feel it, just as he was asking for and Peter’s face goes slack as his eyes open. He studies Tony’s own face, the contortions and expressions as he comes, while also clearly taking note of how it felt inside of him, as though it’s the most fascinating thing he’s ever seen or experienced. Tony has never felt so bare, so naked in the presence of another, and it makes him incredibly self-conscious. In reaction he starts moving again, pushing Peter to his end point as fast as he can, and it doesn’t take long before he feels the clench, the tightening as Peter comes, painting his stomach with his head tipped back again, a litany of curses intermingling with Tony’s name falling off his lips. 

  
Feeling even more overwhelmed, heart beating fast in his chest and throat tight again, Tony collapses on top of him, pressing his cheek against Peter’s chest while he breathes hard and does his best not to cry. He has no idea why he wants to, why he’s so overcome with it, but he sure as shit doesn’t want Peter to know. 

  
It’s quiet for a moment and he can hear Peter’s heart beating quickly as well, feel his chest moving with each breath and the muscles tensing as his arms come up to wrap around Tony’s shoulders gently, tentatively. He knows Peter’s figured it out, he didn’t miss a damn thing no matter how much Tony might actually want him to this time. 

  
“You ok?” Peter asks quietly, breath tickling the top of Tony’s head, moving his hair slightly and he knows he’s being watched, the hands start rubbing his shoulders to comfort him and Tony stifles an eye roll in his own direction. Mentally telling himself to get his shit together he lifts his head and rests his chin on Peter’s chest, smiling at him as best he can, hiding, denying and distracting, his usual go to tactics. 

  
“Good, are you ok?” He asks, trying to make it seem like he was concerned he had hurt Peter in some way or something and Peter’s eyes narrow, not buying it but he seems to decide not to push it and nods instead.

  
“I’m fine Tony, stop asking, I’ll tell you when I’m not,” he says pointedly and Tony feels like he’s the younger one in the room instantly. 

  
Feeling awkward at being called out, Tony decides it’s time they get cleaned up, though he’s going to have to change the bed anyway after this weekend. Pushing himself up onto his hands he carefully pulls out of Peter, the wet squelching sound making both of them wince, Peter more so and Tony gives him an ‘I told you so’ look, earning him a narrow-eyed glare. 

  
“You were warned,” he says bluntly.

  
“Worth it,” Peter retorts. His simple belligerence enough to make Tony laugh loudly.

  
“You are something else,” he snorts, pushing himself off the bed and pulling Peter with him, who continues to wince and frown as gravity starts making Tony’s come run down his thigh. 

  
They crowd into the shower together again, kissing and giggling and splashing each other and Tony feels minutely better. It’s not over, they aren’t done, Peter is coming back, everything is fine. He needs to get over his shit. 

  
The sound of his phone beeping pulls him out of his revelry and he dashes out to check who it is, terrified that someone was about to walk in on them but instead it’s just Happy, informing him in quite a clipped professional tone that he will be there in 20 minutes to collect Peter. The happiness fades immediately, the melancholy returning and replacing it but he reminds himself once again that this isn’t over and forces a smile back on his face when he goes to tell Peter. 

  
Despite his effort to fake it, the melancholy quickly spreads to Peter who sullenly dries off and gets dressed and packs up his bag, not that he had worn much of the clothes he brought with him anyway. 

  
“You should get some stuff to leave here,” Tony offers suddenly as he watches Peter pack away his toothbrush. He’d managed to get dried off himself and had thrown on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and was now sitting on the bed watching Peter unhelpfully. “Might make life easier you know, if you didn’t have to bring everything every time you came here.”

  
Peter turns and stares at him in surprise, grinning a minute later. 

  
“Yeah, that’s a good idea, yeah, I mean, I forget stuff all the time so that would be easier and like, I’m probably gonna live here at some point anyway right?” He reasons out and Tony nods. He kind of wants to point out that Peter could be living there already if he had accepted his offer but he respects his decision still, knows that at that time, it was the right one and neither could have predicted this turn in their relationship anyway. 

  
“Yup, might as well make yourself feel at home,” Tony replies easily, smiling himself because it gave him a strange comfort to make this agreement. It meant permanence, committal, all things that used to terrify him but now he desperately wanted them from Peter. Most of all it was reassurance. 

  
“Ok, great,” Peter agrees, standing up and slinging his bag over his shoulders. “I’ll uh, get some stuff together this week and bring it next weekend.” He decides and Tony finally gets off his ass, knowing they only had a few minutes left now, and not wanting to waste it. 

  
Sliding his arms around Peter’s waist and under the bag he pulls him in and kisses him, tasting him and holding him tightly for as long as he could. Peter’s arms go around Tony’s neck immediately, holding on a bit tighter as well as he hums into his mouth. 

  
Tony’s phone dings behind them, indicating Happy’s arrival but they still kiss for a minute longer, several more pecks being added in before they finally give in and open the door and head down the hallway, the phone dinging more insistently behind them. 

  
Happy is standing beside the car looking like an angry bull when they finally get to the front door of the building. 

  
“Hey Hap, what’s the rush?” Tony asks him in a laughing tone, one he usually used with Happy and the other man glares at him behind his sunglasses. He wasn’t too thrilled with being relegated back to glorified chauffeur again, especially when it was for 16-year-old kids from Queens when he thought he could be doing more important things. But it had been Pepper’s idea, her removal of Tony’s team from the company as though it was an infection that needed to be cut out of the body to heal the rest. 

  
“I told you, I have a thing this afternoon and am on a tight schedule,” Happy replies in a clipped tone, rather opposite his cheerful name. He pops the trunk and Peter drops his bag in quickly but doesn’t move towards the door yet.

  
“Oh right, the Downton Abbey fan convention, who are you cosplaying as again? Carson was it?” Tony asks in a deadpan voice and Peter starts giggling as Happy huffs out angrily. 

  
“How often is this going to happen? I could be doing other things,” Happy demands, hand waving at Peter as though he were just an inconvenience and Tony feels a ripple of anger go through him. 

  
“Last time today, I’ll pick him up and drop him off from now on, alright, so you can do whatever shit you do these days that’s so important,” Tony replies sharply, turning to give Peter a quick hug before he hurries to get in to the car, looking uncomfortable now with the tension in the air and upset at possibly ruining someone else’s day. As soon as Peter’s door closes, Tony turns towards Happy again and gives him a dark look. “Do not ever speak to him like that or treat him like that again. He deserves a lot more respect than that and you know it.”

  
Happy doesn’t reply but his jaw visibly tightens before he turns on his heel and drops into the car, slamming the door closed. Tony is half tempted to stop them and just drive Peter himself right now, to save him from how awful this car ride was surely going to be but Happy peels off before he can even move. 

  
Annoyed and sad he hurries back inside and to the living quarters, right into his bedroom to get his phone to text Peter to make sure he’s ok. Standing in the room again brings on a fresh wave of sadness as he looks at the messy bed and bottle of lube that had found its way to the floor but hadn’t opened thankfully. Swallowing the lump in his throat he focuses on the task he came for. 

_T: You ok? Is he being an asshole? He’s fired safe to say._

_P: I’m fine, don’t fire him, I get it, it’s probably frustrating to have to bring me back and forth. Maybe it’s best you take over fully._

Tony smiles, he knows that Peter much prefers to get a ride from him rather than the grumpy driver, but for more reasons than just the company. 

_T: Agreed. Text me when you get home ok? Let me know you’re safe._

_P: yeah, will do_

Tony only asks out of courtesy since he fully intends to be watching anyway to make sure Peter does indeed get home alright. In the meantime he strips the rest of the sheets off the bed and collects all of the bedding together in his laundry basket before heading towards the bathroom to get their towels and any clothes he needs washing. Tucking his phone in his pocket he picks the basket up and is about to head out the door when he notices another t-shirt in the corner of the room. Putting the basket back down again he goes to grab it and then realizes it’s Peters. 

  
Smiling softly, wistfully, he picks it up and brings it straight up to his nose to inhale his scent, that same Axe body wash and deodorant he was now extremely familiar with. Rather than putting it in with the rest of the laundry, he folds it neatly and places it on the end of the bed, knowing damn right well he’s going to sleep with the stupid thing every night until Peter is there again next weekend like a child with a teddy bear. 

  
Grabbing the laundry again he heads out and starts a load before going to the kitchen, making a smoothie and a bowl of cereal and feeling guilty that he didn’t even give Peter breakfast before he left but they were kind of busy. He knows that Peter won’t even ask Happy to stop if he’s hungry to get food, he was way too polite and likely scared to even speak right now. 

  
He just hopes Peter is alright until he gets home, and that thought gets him grabbing his own breakfast and hurrying down to the lab and into the party room. The screen comes to life at his command and he finds May busy making Peter’s bed up with clean sheets, humming to herself. It appears she’s cleaned up the rest of the room as well, not that Peter was messy, though he didn’t seem to care much about where his shoes landed when he took those off. Tony vaguely wonders if she has any night shifts that week as he eats his cereal and watches while she finishes up and leaves the room. Glancing at the clock he knows Peter is about ten minutes away if traffic was good, though he doesn’t doubt that Happy might be flooring it a little to complete his task as quickly as possible. 

  
While he waits, he checks his emails and messages, ignored all weekend in favor of focusing on Peter and he replies to only a few of them, simple one word answers that he know will piss off Ross and Rhodes but still give them the information they need. 

  
Five minutes later he hears the front door of the apartment open and hears Peter’s voice and relief washes over him. He was home, he was safe. Having him with Tony was infinitely better but as a second option, Tony preferred him home, where he could keep an eye on him. 

  
Peter and May talk for a few minutes in the living room, and Tony hears her remark on how happy Peter seems to be and he can’t help but smile smugly about that. He dodges her questions about the party and doesn’t go into any detail about what he and Tony did all weekend, keeping it vague about working on the project before he announces he’s going to unpack and hurries down the hall to his bedroom. Inside the room he closes the door and drops his bag on his bed and then stands beside it for a moment with his hands in his hair, eyes wide and face full of a sort of awe. Tony isn’t sure what’s going on in his head and considers texting him, worried that something is wrong when Peter laughs once and then again, trying to keep it quiet so he doesn’t alert May. 

  
“I’m not a virgin anymore,” he breathes out between giggles. “Holy shit.”

  
It’s Tony’s turn to sit in stunned silence for a second before he too starts laughing. The smugness returning, knowing he put that smile on Peter’s face, made him this happy. 

  
“Oh, shit,” Peter says quickly, suddenly, digging his phone out and typing quickly. Tony’s phone dings a second later. 

_P: Hey I’m home, all good here_

_T: Ok good, sorry we didn’t get breakfast before you left, next time I’ll take care of that_

Peter smiles at the message, sitting down on the edge of his bed. 

_P: It’s all good, what we were doing was more fun anyway and I can get something here_

_T: Yes, we clearly had more important business to attend to, but next time a kale smoothie to keep your energy up will be provided._

Tony laughs at Peter’s nose scrunch as he reacts. 

_P: Yeah I’d rather go hungry_

Tony laughs again, taking a sip of his own kale and carrot smoothie before quickly deciding to grab a selfie of himself with it and send it back, getting an even bigger nose scrunch reaction. 

_P: Yeah nope_

Tony is about to reply again when May knocks on the door, poking her head in to ask Peter if he wanted to go grocery shopping with her, since she had a new recipe for turkey meatballs she wanted to try and Peter scrunches his nose slightly once again. But he agrees to go, clearly deciding to spend some time with his aunt since he had been away so much. He glances down at his phone a few times, clearly awaiting a reply from Tony and Tony realizes he needs to send something, that Peter doesn’t know that Tony is watching this entire exchange. 

_T: Any plans for the rest of the day?_

Peter grins immediately, happy to just talk to Tony as always and his aunt gives him a sideways look, asking who he’s talking to. Peter replies with a bland ‘no one’ while typing a response.

_P: shopping with my aunt, she wants to try a new recipe._

_T: Dear God, stop her, save yourself_

Peter snorts loudly as he laughs and May, who had just started to leave the room with Peter behind her, turns back sharply and stares at him confused.   
“It’s just Ned, being Ned, you know, how he is, and stuff,” Peter explains brokenly without actually explaining and she gives him a curious long look that he shrinks under slightly before she turns more slowly and leads him down the hall. 

_P: I’ll survive, I’ve survived worse_

_T: Kale smoothies aren’t looking so bad now are they_

_P: Nope, they still look terrible._


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for all of the kind comments and kudos! They are much appreciated and I promise I will do some proper responding when I'm finished posting all of the fic!

Like most of the world’s populace, Tony hated Mondays. Not that he had had much of a real job in his life to actually have a reason to hate the day, but he hated what they represented. Now he really hated them because he could sympathize with every other person trudging off to work first thing in the morning. 

  
The day drags on painfully slow as he sits through meetings and discussions and demonstrations and team building exercises and the only thing that keeps him going is the thought that Monday being done meant one more day closer to seeing Peter again. 

  
He doesn’t hear from him much during the day, what with him being at school and all but they still send each other the odd text, lamenting their tasks for the day and sharing private jokes. 

  
Their late night exploit and mutual jerk off session over text does give a tiny sense of relief but then they have to get through Tuesday and the boredom returns anew.   
Tony manages to sneak away early on Wednesday, things particularly slow around the office and most everyone else goes off to do some form of training and self-building exercise so Tony declares he will do the same, and then heads back to the party room and gets comfortable. 

  
It’s mostly mundane around the Parker household for a while. Peter sat on his bed doing his homework while May does other things that Tony can’t see elsewhere in the apartment. He passes the time pestering Peter with increasingly ridiculous memes he finds on the internet, much to Peter’s annoyance as he tries to focus on his work but he can’t ignore Tony, no matter how much he probably should. 

  
Things take a turn for the interesting when May comes in abruptly just after five in her uniform and kisses Peter goodbye for the night. She’s barely out the door before Peter is hurrying to his closet and changing into the suit to go out on the town for a few hours. Tony watches as he soars through the buildings and stops a bike theft while trying to consider the possibilities of how they could maximize this night alone. He finally decides that it would be a complete waste for him to stay at the compound while Peter sits at home and Tony does own some very fast cars, not to mention Iron Man suits that could go Mach speed when necessary. 

  
The tricky task is finding a way to get an invite over without revealing that he already knew May was out for the night. He waits until Peter is sitting on the top of an apartment complex taking a break, watching the sun setting and discussing possible dinner options with Karen, his in-suit computer. 

_T: Anything exciting on the agenda for tonight?_

Tony starts out bland, non-suspicious to see how much Peter would reveal himself and then he could go from there. 

_P: Not really, May working, just out doing a patrol and will grab some dinner. Gotta finish that Spanish assignment._

Door effectively opened, Tony leaps at it eagerly. 

_T: You’re alone tonight?_

_P: Yeah, May’s doing the night shift, won’t be home till after 6 tomorrow morning._

_T: Why don’t I bring dinner over to your place?_

Peter pulls his mask off at that, a surprised sound the last thing heard before cutting off Tony’s ability to see what he was seeing and hear him and it feels weird to lose that connection. 

_P: Really? You want to come over?_

_T: Yeah, why waste a night sitting in two separate places and I can get there pretty fast._

_P: Right, yeah, makes sense, are you on your way now?_

Tony smiles at Peter’s eagerness, already standing up and heading out while thinking about which vehicle to use to transport him. He knows he shouldn’t take anything too flashy that would draw attention, have people questioning things but he needed something with some serious speed. He finally decides on just riding in a suit, he could park it on the roof and climb down the fire escape that Peter used all the damn time to come and go and it would prevent the whole messy people on the ground seeing him problems. 

_T: I can be, think I’ll ride in using a suit, easier to park._

_P: LOL. Ok, I’ll see you soon, I’ll head home now myself._

Decided, Tony stops by his own bedroom to grab the lube and a few condoms because he didn’t want to be presumptuous but also wanted to be prepared. Checking his appearance in the bathroom mirror he quickly brushes his teeth and puts on some fresh deodorant before heading down to the lab and the garage where all of the suits stood like sentries waiting to be put into action. He picks the least noticeable one, his stealth suit that is matte black. A minute later and he’s in the darkening, purple sky and soaring through the air towards Queens. 

  
He lands as quietly as he can on the roof of Peter’s building, stepping out of the suit and putting it into lockdown mode in a dark corner. Then he heads over to the edge of the roof and starts climbing down the fire escape. He’s careful not to be seen through the first two windows that he passes and breathes a sigh of relief when he finally gets to Peter’s, only to get a bit panicked when he finds it locked though the lights are on inside. 

_T: I’m here, where are you?_

He waits for a response, ears trying to pick up any sound of Peter moving around and he gets a message back a minute later.

_P: Where? I’m at the door._

_T: Check your window._

He laughs when he hears Peter’s feet thumping towards the room and then the window, the curtain parting to reveal his surprised face, brows together in confusion while Tony motions for him to hurry up and open it. 

  
“Why are you at the window?” Peter asks the second he gets it open. “Did you think someone would see you coming to the door because you’ve been here before.”

  
“I know, but like I said, I found good parking, on your roof,” Tony replies, finger pointing upwards in emphasis. “And this was the easiest way down.” He slips through the window and lands softly on his feet before turning and closing it himself and re-locking it and getting the curtains back in place. He takes it as a good sign that Peter was already doing the prep that he usually did when he was about to get naked and sexual in the room before Tony arrived. 

  
“Oh, right, yeah, that makes sense,” Peter replies, watching Tony as he moves about.

  
As soon as he’s done, satisfied that there are no cracks in the curtain, he turns, pulls Peter towards him and presses his back against the wall and presses his tongue right into his mouth, moaning loudly at finally tasting him, touching him and being with him. Peter smiles into the kiss at first, amused at Tony’s eagerness but returns it all the same with just as much force. 

  
Tony decides that there didn’t need to be any finesse or fooling around, they were both clearly way too pent up for that, so instead he just sets to divesting Peter of his t-shirt and boxers, the rest of this clothes mostly gone since he’d just been in the suit out on the streets. Peter obediently puts his arms up and lifts his legs when necessary, doing his best to keep their lips together as much as possible before his own hands start grappling with Tony’s t-shirt, the fabric protesting as he starts pulling it up. Tony helps, tossing it haphazardly before picking Peter up by the waist and tossing him on the single bed. Peter quickly gets himself in the centre, leaning back on his elbows with his knees bent, feet flat on the bed and legs open invitingly while he watches Tony quickly pull the condoms and lube out of his pocket, dropping them on the bed next to Peter before damn near ripping his own pants off, shoes kicked off in a hurry. 

  
As he climbs on to Peter, recapturing his lips and settling down to rut against him, he has the vague thought in the back of his mind that the camera was catching all of this and it makes him smile, despite the guilt trying to push into the back of his mind. 

  
They rut for only a few minutes before deciding that that was enough and Peter about shoves Tony out of the way to quickly flip over onto his hands and knees, hand pushing the condoms onto the floor and thrusting the lube at him. Tony awkwardly nods, having been told his instructions without a word even being used but he obeys nonetheless, slicking himself up before taking hold of the younger man’s hips and starting to push in. It sounds like a bad porno for a minute with the sounds they both make when Tony finally gets inside of Peter, both of them so aroused it feels like it’ll only take like two thrusts and they both will be coming undone. 

  
He still tries to start slow however, wanting to drag it out a little, and he has to hang on to Peter’s hips a little tighter to keep him from just fucking himself on Tony’s cock, his own hand already jerking himself. 

  
He manages a few slow thrusts, entranced as he watches himself slide out and back in again, reveling in the sensation of Peter tight and hot around him but he quickly becomes like Peter, desperate, urgent and he picks up speed quickly. Skin starts slapping skin and the bed starts protesting loudly while both of them are crying out in unison and Tony prays that the neighbors can’t hear them but also can’t stop. 

  
Peter comes first, quickly, body gripping Tony’s cock as he screams and writhes with the force of it. When he can get ahold of him again, Tony resumes his pace, Peter squeaking under him from oversensitivity while Tony plows into him until he too falls over the edge, pushing in as far as he can to really get his come as deep as possible, knowing that Peter liked that and frankly so did he. 

  
Peter slumps down onto the bed, piece by piece, first his head and shoulders, and then his hips start dropping and Tony slides out of him as he flops down. He tries not to lie on top of Peter as he too gives in to the weakness in his limbs but it was a little tough on such a small bed. 

  
They lay panting together for a long time, sweat cooling on their skin, until Tony nudges Peter gently, telling him they should get cleaned up and they stumble into the small bathroom and into the tub. The water gives them more energy, kissing and fooling around under the stream until they start to get wrinkled. Peter throws a pair of jogging pants on and a t-shirt, tossing similar items towards Tony as they wander out to the kitchen to find food, both of them having agreed that they needed dinner. Tony already felt bad for letting Peter leave on Sunday without breakfast, he wasn’t about to keep him from eating again, though clearly Peter wasn’t complaining. 

  
“I’m not sure what I’ve got in here we can make,” Peter offers while opening the fridge and examining the contents. Tony spots a rather suspect looking brown squarish lump on one shelf and thinks that maybe they should just order something. Peter catches him eyeballing it with disgust on his face and laughs loudly. “Turkey meatloaf, she’s been trying to perfect that recipe for a long time.”

“She needs more practice,” Tony states evenly, pulling Peter away from the fridge and the offending meat brick and closing it. 

  
“She does her best,” Peter says with a laugh, defending his aunt but also aware Tony was right.

  
“Nonetheless, let’s order something, pizza?” Tony offers with a lift of his brows and Peter considers it a moment before nodding and grabbing the menu for the local place. 

  
When they are done ordering it, they flop down on the couch and cuddle up together, Peter partially sprawled on Tony’s chest and Tony can’t help but lean in to press a few kisses to the wet curls beneath his chin, arms wrapping tightly around the younger man. Peter flicks the TV on, going through the channels until they find something they can agree upon. Tony doesn’t watch really though, he’s too busy absorbing this moment, memorizing Peter once again as he seemed to be doing more and more. The sex was amazing, that was no question, but these moments, this quiet and domestic stuff was so compelling and addictive that he wasn't sure what he ever would do if he lost it. If he ever lost Peter. 

  
Peter says nothing as Tony nuzzles his hair and rubs his arms and holds him a little tighter with each passing moment but Tony gets the sense that he’s noticed and seems to be enjoying it himself. 

  
When the pizza arrives, Tony hides in the bedroom while Peter answers the door, handing over the cash that Tony had insisted he take to pay for it. While in the room, he pulls the comforter off the bed, noting the mess Peter had left behind and that they both had forgotten about. Given the all clear from the living room, he takes a quick minute to put the blanket into the washing machine on his way through, the dual unit occupying a closet in the hallway. He didn’t think Peter would want May finding or having to deal with it. 

  
They eat in front of a repeat episode of The Big Bang Theory, devouring the pizza like they haven’t eaten in a month. As soon as it’s gone, both of them washing it down with soda, they come back together, Peter straddling Tony’s lap on the couch as they start making out and groping each other. There is less urgency now, their initial need already sated, so they take their time and savor it.

  
The trip back to the bedroom is slightly perilous as they carry on kissing and groping their way there, bumping into the walls and tripping over each other’s feet but they get there eventually, shoving the door closed and falling on to the bed, Tony on top, slotted between Peter’s thighs. 

  
T-shirts hit the floor shortly after, pants joining them so they won’t get lonely a few minutes later and soon Peter is grabbing the lube, reaching to slick Tony up without saying a word. As a final thought, Tony quickly grabs one of the towels they used from their shower and gets it beneath them, so they won’t have to wash the sheets as well and then he just sits back to let Peter touch him, prepare him, their breathing loud in the room. 

  
Neither one says it, but they both know they want this to last longer this time, to ride it out slower, to feel every inch of each other. With that in mind, Tony takes his time sliding in, and waits when he’s fully seated, fingers trailing through Peter’s hair as he looks down at him, dark eyes full of desire and so much more as they look up into Tony’s. It makes Tony’s heart pound, emotions pulsing through him as he feels the moment still around him, like a snapshot in time. He prays he won’t ever forget this, the feeling of Peter surrounding him, against him, breath warm on his face as Tony presses their foreheads together, noses bumping slightly. Peter’s hands thread into Tony’s hair, holding his head in place as though he is similarly entranced, hanging on, keeping it close. 

  
Tony keeps their foreheads together as he starts moving slowly, the movements barely a few inches but enough to make them both pant and moan. He does his best to keep the position as he picks up speed, body starting to cry for release, over sensitive from being inside of Peter for so long, held tight and Peter’s hands tighten in his hair before one releases it to start stroking himself rapidly. When Peter comes, Tony stops moving, fully seated as he feels his body vibrate and tighten around him, voice breaking on Tony’s name and fingers now painfully tight in his hair. His own orgasm hits him suddenly, body overwhelmed by Peter’s, and he cries out loudly, mouth open wide and his vision goes white for a minute. 

  
He can feel Peter pressing soft kisses to his jaw as he comes down from it, fingers now threading through his hair gently rather than gripping it and Tony feels like he lost time somewhere in there. He doesn’t dare open his eyes, look into those dark brown depths because he knows he’ll get lost in them, will be overwhelmed by the emotions already swirling in his chest, making him say things he probably shouldn’t. So instead he just drops his face down to Peter’s shoulder, breathing hard against his skin while his body rapidly relaxes and droops down, softening cock still seated inside of the younger man but neither says or does anything about it for a long moment. When he does move it’s only enough to finish sliding out, a slight tilt of his hips and then he drops again. Peter’s breath tickles his ear and hair as he rests his cheek against Tony’s temple, his own limbs limp and weak as he attempts to wrap his arms around Tony, as though offering comfort again. 

  
He isn’t sure how long they stay this way, but it’s long enough for both to start shivering slightly, the sweat cooling and drying on their skin, their hearts slowing down and breathing normalizing. For the second time that night they stumble into the shower and clean up, making it more perfunctory this time before returning to the bed to cuddle up together under the sheet. As they get settled, Tony can’t help but glance up at where he knows the camera is, knowing it caught everything in this room tonight and he now finds he has mixed feelings about that. He’s careful not to let Peter catch him looking at it though. 

  
Peter sets an alarm on his phone for 5:30, a painfully early hour considering it’s already after 1 in the morning, but they don’t dare risk May coming home and finding them together in bed. 

  
The room dark, both of them drifting off, Tony remembers all the times he’s watched Peter going to sleep in this very bed, in this very room and the deep desire he had to be with him, holding him just like he was now and he can’t help but feel a profound relief at it finally happening. 

  
It feels like only seconds have passed when the alarm startles both of them awake. Peter kills the sound before flicking the lamp on and sitting up looking groggy, his hair sticking out everywhere. Tony sits up a moment later, once he’s finished studying Peter’s profile he gives him a quick but thorough kiss before getting up and finding his clothes, getting dressed as quickly as he could with his uncoordinated tired limbs. Peter grabs his own pajamas and looks at the bed and then around the room confused. 

  
“Where did my blanket go?” He asks in a rough sleepy voice. 

  
Tony then remembers putting it in the wash but never putting it in the dryer, annoyed at himself for forgetting. 

  
“I put it in the washing machine and ran it, since it was a little messed up from earlier but I forgot about it completely after that, sorry babe,” Tony admits and Peter looks at his closed door as though he can see the hallway and machine beyond and shrugs.

  
“It’s all good, I’ll put it in the dryer in the morning, I’ll tell May I spilled soda on it or something, it’ll be fine.”

  
With that settled, Tony prepares himself to go out the window, physically and emotionally. Peter follows him over to it, watching quietly with wide, sad eyes as he opens the curtains and flips the latch and pulls it up, letting in the cool night air. 

  
Before he steps out he presses Peter to the wall again and kisses him hard, desperate, never wanting to stop but knowing he would have to and soon. 

  
Flushed and breathless they separate a few minutes later and stare at each other for another moment they shouldn’t be wasting. 

  
“I’ll see you Friday right? You’re picking me up from school?” Peter asks quietly, eyes searching Tony’s face hopefully. 

  
“Yes, of course, I’ll be there right at 2:45,” Tony declares and Peter visibly relaxes and smiles. 

  
“Ok, well, that’s only two days away, not too long to wait,” he offers and Tony nods, knowing it will still be a painful two days for him. “Ok, she’s gonna be home soon,” Peter adds, eyes glancing at the clock and the 5:54 staring back at them. 

  
Despondent but also knowing that Peter was right, Tony gives him one more quick kiss and then slips out the window, starting the climb back up to the roof. The air outside is damp, chilly and it clears his senses and wakes him up more, and somehow also gives him a strange sense of clarity. He stops halfway up the second ladder, breathing loudly from the exertion and emotion in his chest before he starts backing down, hurrying to Peter’s window again. 

  
It’s closed when he gets there, Peter just turning away from it with a sad expression on his face before he notices Tony and his eyes widen, glancing towards the door with a little panic creeping onto his face but he opens the window again. 

  
“Tony, what are you doing, she’s gonna be home any minute, what did you forget,” Peter asks in a hurried tone, still glancing at the door every few seconds.

  
“This,” Tony supplies simply, hand grabbing the back of Peter’s head to pull him in to a bruising deep kiss. Peter melts into it immediately even though he’s clearly still terrified of getting caught. 

  
“You didn’t forget that, we did that,” Peter says quietly with a laugh when they separate, eyes searching Tony’s face, confused as to what was going on. 

  
“I love you,” Tony says simply, Peter stilling in front of him in surprise, eyes widening and mouth dropping open. “I love you, that’s what I forgot,” Tony adds before shaking his head. “No, I didn't forget but I thought I should tell you, I didn’t want to leave without telling you,” he hurries out awkwardly, starting to feel uncomfortable in Peter’s silence, that terror of it not being reciprocated crawling down his spine. 

  
Peter says nothing as he crowds right into Tony a moment later, coming out of his stupor to kiss the older man with a force that about knocks him backwards, his arms wrapping around Tony’s neck to hold him firmly in place. Tony’s heart pounds painfully in his chest, his own arms going around Peter’s middle to hang on tightly as they kiss, mouths barely moving but holding firm against each other. 

  
The sound of a key in a lock makes them both jump and separate, both of them glancing at the closed bedroom door in a panic before Tony all but dives towards the window, knowing he needed to get at least out of view and fast. 

  
A hand on his arm stops him though, turning him as he already has one leg out and Peter takes a hold of Tony’s face, making him stare into those big eyes. 

  
“I love you too,” he says quietly, smiling as he says it and Tony sags with relief and joy, quickly pecking Peter’s lips before he ducks out the window mere moments before May opens the bedroom door. He hides around the corner while he listens to them talk, Peter’s voice a little shaky as he lies to her, telling her he was closing the window because he was cold and quickly changing the subject to how her shift was. When the window is closed their voices become muffled and Tony waits until it’s silent before creeping up the ladders, cautious about anyone in the other windows again. 

  
He gets to the roof and drops onto his knees, and starts laughing quietly, wanting to scream and dance around in happiness but wisely keeping some control over himself. But he can’t help but sit for a long while just reveling in it, feeling an intense profound relief at finally admitting how he felt about Peter, at releasing those feelings and then having them reciprocated. 

  
So this was what being in love was like, he can’t help but think to himself. He’d had girlfriends in the past that he cared about, he certainly loved his parents but this was so intense that he could finally understand what all of the poets and writers and artists had been going on about. 

  
Stumbling across the roof eventually and into his suit, he is still grinning like an idiot as he flies back to the compound. 

  
Friday felt like forever away but it was so much more worth the wait now. He just had to get there. He hates the tiny sense of doom that infiltrates the back of his mind, an ingrained habit his father had managed to instill in him, to expect the worst. He refuses to this time, forcing himself to focus on only the good. 

  
He was in love and frankly it was about damn time and man it felt good. 


	9. Chapter 9

He doesn’t bother sleeping when he gets home, instead he heads straight for the party room to watch the footage. No matter how guilty he might feel for still watching Peter in this rather stalkerish way, it was eclipsed by how scorchingly hot the footage of the two of them together is. 

With a stupid grin on his face, he jerks off watching it over and over for close to an hour before he decides he should take a break for some breakfast, maybe a shower before he has to head into the tower to pretend to work. Before he leaves, he quickly snaps a picture of his mostly hard dick, his come on his stomach and sends it to Peter with a cheeky emoji. 

_P: I’m literally on the train on my way to school right now and you send me that :P_

_T: A little something to keep you going for the day_

_P: Kinda unfair since I’m at school and now I’m gonna be horny all day_

_T: That was my master plan. Sneak off to the bathroom, relieve the pressure, give me a little taste, I’ll be bored at work_

_P: WHAT? No, Tony, I can’t do that, I’ll totally get caught_

_T: I am fully aware of your stealth abilities Mr. Parker, you can figure it out_

Tony imagines Peter’s face right now, how red his cheeks would be, how flustered this conversation would make him. He wasn’t as much of an exhibitionist as Tony, and for the safety of their relationship and frankly Tony, that was probably a good thing. But sometimes he could stand to be a little more daring for the fun of it. 

_P: You are a terrible influence._

_T: I know, can’t change me now._

_P: I wouldn’t want to. Love you. Have a good day._

A little flutter goes through Tony’s chest at those words, a burst of happiness that starts in his core and spreads, making him smile and sigh like a woman in a sappy Christmas rom com. He was losing his cool a little, but he wasn’t sure he cared. 

_T: Love you too. I expect evidence in the form of a photograph._

Peter responds with an eye roll emoji first and then a winking one and Tony laughs. 

  
He feels wound up and anticipatory as he cleans up and goes and has a shower, stopping to touch Peter’s t-shirt on his way. He takes his time making coffee and some breakfast, carrying his mug with him when he finally departs for the tower almost an hour late. No one says anything to him when he gets there and he behaves likewise, going straight to the office that was designated for him and plunking down at the work table to carry on fiddling with an improvement he’d come up with for Peter’s suit. His eyes keep checking his phone near constantly, waiting for something, anything from Peter and he loathes any time someone comes to ask him a question or update him on anything because he fears missing something. 

  
He particularly hates the office he’s been given, though they are all pretty much the same and all were actually designed mostly by him. But that was because he never thought he’d actually use one. They were essentially clean white boxes encased in glass and similarly furnished in sleek modern desks and some shelving and filing cabinets. After the Hydra infiltrating Shield debacle, Tony had made a lot of noise about everything being more transparent and open, of rebuilding the entire unit and structure again from the ground up with more equality and openness and less hierarchy in layout. He was pretty passionate about it at the time, but then Germany happened and Steve and a whole host of nasty secrets had been unearthed and now Tony couldn’t help but wonder if being in the dark and less transparent would have been a lot easier on him. 

  
The big issue nowadays with the glass box was the lack of privacy. The boardrooms were the damn same, so it wasn’t like he could close his door and enjoy a little private time with the footage (since he could access it on his phone) or mess around with Peter without someone inevitably seeing. As a dig from Rhodey he assumes, his office had been installed in the busiest area of the building. There are literally people around all the time. He hates it. 

  
Nevertheless, he does close his office door and puts his back towards the front window, ignoring everyone out there as he fiddles and watches his phone. It’s just after noon when he finally gets something (after one or two or ten prodding messages from Tony). It’s clearly a bathroom cubicle but Peter is holding his erection in front of the camera, pants around his knees. 

_T: I knew you could do it._

_P: If I get caught and in trouble, I’m totally blaming you_

Tony laughs, feeling just a tiny bit titillated by the idea of Peter getting caught, enough to start sending the blood in his body southward. He glances behind him and finds the area outside his office busy and bustling as always and he huffs in frustration. Thinking quickly, he hurries out and heads towards his own private lab in the living quarters, figuring if anyone stopped him, he would just say he forgot something there and would be right back. 

_T: Sex Ed has definitely got more interesting from when I was in school_

_P: Ha ha, I’m supposed to be in Algebra right now but there’s an assembly for something, I don’t know, I just know I’ve been half hard all day thanks to you and I couldn’t stand it anymore._

_T: Sorry not sorry_

_P: I know_

As soon as he arrives in the party room, Tony closes and locks the door. Seconds later he’s in his chair, pants down to his knees as he strokes himself up to full hardness as quickly as possible, wanting to catch up with Peter.

_T: So tell me, what are you thinking about right now Mr. Parker? Me fucking you? Can you send video of right now, I want to see you, watch you_

He waits for Peter to film something, hand still stroking himself in anticipation. He takes another picture and sends it as further inspiration while thinking that tomorrow just couldn’t fucking come soon enough at this point. 

  
A second later his phone chimes, FaceTime popping up and he accepts it immediately and is met with a rather lovely view of Peter rapidly stroking himself, breathing loud in the background. 

  
“Fuck Peter, you are amazing,” Tony groans out, his own hand speeding up again. 

  
“SHHHH,” Peter responds and Tony stifles a laugh. Clearly he was still scared of getting caught, hence the heavy breathing but no moaning or other sounds. 

  
As though proving Peter’s point, the sound of a door squeaking startles them both and Peter goes dead silent and still and so does Tony, listening closely. The view is amusing and hot all at once, Peter’s hand still gripping his dick, the tip wet with pre-cum but he’s completely frozen in place. 

  
Footsteps can be heard nearby, a cubicle door closing and locking, piss in the toilet followed by a flush. The sound of the water makes Peter relax a tiny bit, hand moving again slowly as more pre-cum leaks out and Tony knows he’s really close to coming, painfully close. They both wait as the other person finishes washing their hands, thoroughly, and drying them with paper towels, just as thoroughly. 

  
The second the main door clinks closed, Peter’s hand starts going hell bent for leather and Tony quickly makes sure that the visual for Peter on his phone is Tony’s own hand working himself over. Peter gasps loudly when he sees it and comes, making a mess on his stomach and hand, body visibly quivering from the force of it. He knows Peter is still watching him though and that pushes Tony closer to the edge himself, hand moving faster with more intent and he can’t help the moan he lets out when he does come. He hears Peter whisper fuck in the background, making him smirk and his cock jerk once more. 

  
“That had to have been better than an assembly,” Tony quips quietly, still conscious of Peter’s location and he hears a breathy laugh before the view rapidly changes and he’s staring at Peter’s big brown eyes. His face is still flushed from his orgasm, but his eyes are sharp, one brow up as he waits for Tony to follow suit and switch his own view. 

  
“Do not do this to me again, I can’t risk this,” Peter says quietly and sternly and Tony pretends to be admonished before smirking at him. 

  
“Yeah no, I’m not making any promises.” 

  
Peter sighs loudly in exacerbation, eyes rolling slightly. 

  
“I need to get back, or I’ll get in trouble for being gone so long,” Peter says quietly, voice a bit disappointed. “I’ll see you tomorrow though right?” He asks more hopefully and Tony nods immediately.

  
“Counting the minutes,” he says with a smile and Peter grins back at him. 

  
“Ok, I should go, love you, talk to you later,” he says while still smiling and Tony’s face breaks into its own grin.

  
“Yeah, love you too Pete,” Tony says just as quietly, that flurry of joy in his chest again. “Don’t forget to wash your hands,” he adds with a smirk and Peter gives him a dirty look and ends the call, making Tony laugh loudly. 

  
He quickly cleans himself up and pulls his pants back up. On his way back through the lab he grabs a few things, random tools he finds to carry back with him to prove that he had left for a reason. No one asks him though when he gets back, they just continue on working without even looking at him and he plops back down as his desk. 

  
A few hours after he gets back one of the minions pops in with a few incident reports for him, activity around New York that might need to be looked into and Tony notes that one of the locations was not far from Peter’s place. Maybe it was time for Spiderman to start doing a little work for the company. 

  
Checking the time, he knows Peter is done with school so he calls him quickly about the details, asking him to go check out the location and report back on what he sees. Clearly excited about being given a mission, even if it is just a fact finding one, Peter eagerly agrees and promises to get everything they need. 

  
Declaring that he was going to do his own research and was in touch with Peter regarding the case, Tony leaves his office and heads back to the party room again to watch Peter through the suit to make sure he stayed safe.

  
The place is an old textile factory on the East River and it doesn’t take Peter long to get there. There have been some reports of weapons being sold out of the location, unique ones and the case has some similarities to what Peter had uncovered with Vulture, so it had been flagged to be followed up on. Outside the place is deserted, and there isn’t much going on inside either other than a few homeless people seeking shelter from a coming rainstorm. Clearly disappointed, judging by his tone, Peter still does a thorough sweep, having Karen scan for radioactive material and everything but nothing turns up. 

  
He debates with himself about calling Tony, but decides to try to do more work on the street, solve a few crimes or something before he does. Just so that he had something positive to report. Tony wants so badly to call him and tell him it’s ok, it’s not his fault and he’s doing a great job but that would be admitting that he’s watching again and Peter had made it pretty clear he wasn’t pleased about the baby monitor protocol the first time. 

  
He takes his time, being extra thorough as he watches for any activity and he manages to snag a pick pocket as well as a guy who stole a bouquet of flowers from outside a bodega. The second guy gets off with a warning when he agrees to pay for them, Peter having sympathy when the guy explains they are for his sick mother. Tony doesn’t buy it but Peter does and it still all turns out well. 

  
When it starts to turn to dusk, Peter finally heads for home, landing on his fire escape and quietly opening the window to keep May from hearing. He’d changed into the suit at home while she was still at work but now she would be there and he had to sneak in without her seeing him wearing it. 

  
Tony switches his view to both the camera and Peter’s suit, assuming he will take his mask off shortly and he hears Peter curse as he realizes he’s left his bedroom door open. 

  
A strange sense of doom rolls over Tony suddenly, a thought crossing through his mind that what goes up, must come down, unless you’re Spiderman and you can crawl across the ceiling. 

  
Peter starts doing just that, aiming to get close enough to use a strategic web to slowly slide the door closed when he stops dead, right in front of the camera, his head a mere foot from it. 

  
Heart pounding in his chest, Tony can only watch as Peter’s masked face takes on a confused expression as his head turns slowly towards the camera, eyes narrowing when he spots it before widening in shock. Forgetting all about the door, Peter’s hand shoots out to grab the tiny device, causing Tony’s one screen to become a tornado type view as he swings it around to look at it. 

  
“What the hell?” Peter whispers, lowering himself to the floor silently before remembering his door again and carefully tip toeing towards it to close it before pulling his mask off. Now with only the camera view to look through, Tony watches the room spin by as Peter turns it around in his hands, finding the tiny printed logo on the side with his enhanced vision. _‘Stark Industries.’_ Yes. Tony left the fucking logo on, and he has never felt regret quite like this before, or felt so stupid. “What the fuck Tony,” Peter growls out, his face front and centre now as he inadvertently aims it right at himself and his very furious expression. 

  
The camera moves again and seems to land on his desk, view pointing rather blankly at the closet door in the room as Peter growls under his breath and seconds later Tony’s cell phone rings.

  
He seriously debates on not answering. He’s that much of a coward. They were so good, had admitted their feelings for each other, it was bliss and Tony had royally fucked it up. Like he generally fucks things up. So he really considers not answering. But then a voice in the back of his head, not unlike his mother’s this time, tells him to man up, be honest with Peter and start groveling. Peter won’t leave him over this, not if Tony apologizes profusely and promises to make it up to him. And he did honestly have proper reasons to put the camera there in the first place, he wanted to keep Peter safe. But then, Peter hated the baby monitor and the training wheels, he wasn’t going to take kindly to this. He hated being treated like a child, like he was weak and not to be trusted because as far as he was concerned, he’d proven himself.   
This was bad. 

  
Taking a deep breath, closing his eyes slowly before picking his phone up, Tony finally grows a pair and answers on the fifteenth ring. 

  
“Hey…” he starts, getting ready to start apologizing, groveling, explaining, etc. but he gets cut off immediately, Peter’s voice furious, more than Tony has ever heard it considering how chill and sweet Peter normally was. It sounds foreign to him, wrong. 

  
“What the fuck Tony, are you watching me?” He growls out in a harsh whisper, still aware of his aunt in the next room. 

  
Tony opens his mouth to make excuses, to try to talk his way out of this, but finds he can’t. Not this time. Peter mattered way too much to him, that’s why he always felt guilty about the camera but he’d always found ways to talk himself out of this and now he was paying the price for that.

  
“Tony, answer me,” Peter demands, moving around the room, the sound of him taking the suit off muffled in the background. 

  
“Yes,” Tony answers honestly, simply. “Yes, I am, was, I’m really sorry.” 

  
Peter goes silent, movements stopped as he processes this, a squeak of frustration coming from his throat. 

  
“WHY?” He about yells before quieting again, hurrying now to hide the suit and get dressed. Tony gets short visual snippets of him as he goes to the closet to stuff the suit in before he disappears again and his expression breaks Tony’s heart. He looks completely and utterly betrayed, hurt, disgusted and angry. 

  
He hears May calling down the hallway, asking if Peter is ok and he quickly tells her he’s fine in a terse voice before returning his attention to Tony. 

  
“Tell me why Tony, why the fuck would you put a fucking camera in my goddamn bedroom of all places? What is wrong with you?” He growls out and Tony tries to place him in the room and think he hears him sit down on his bed. The same bed they’d been in together just last night. Tony has footage of that. 

  
“Because I wanted to protect you Peter, keep an eye on you because I didn’t want anything to happen to you,” he says quietly. 

  
“So you are still baby monitoring me then, you still don’t trust me and for kicks put a camera in my bedroom,” Peter spits sarcastically and Tony hates this tone, this side of him that he had brought out.

  
“In a word, yes. I’m being honest, I was worried about you, you almost got killed by Vulture, he dropped a damn building on you and then you were in the plane crash and I’m sorry, I’m so sorry but I was worried ok, I can’t help it, you matter too much to me,” Tony explains. “I put it in your bedroom because I know your aunt doesn’t know about Spiderman, and that you keep the suit in there and thought if you were going to say or do something that might be dangerous, it would likely originate there.” Tony hates himself for every word. He knew how it sounded now that he said it out loud, how disrespectful it was. 

  
“Are you serious? You honestly thought I’d be sitting in my fucking bedroom plotting out dangerous adventures and talking about it so you thought you better be watching just in case. I mean, the monitor in the suit made fucking sense at least, but this, this is unreal?” Peter starts quietly but gets louder near the end. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Jesus, what have you even seen? Oh my God Tony, what have you been watching?” Peter says loudly as he clearly starts running over the possibilities in his mind, breathing loud in the phone as he seems to realize all of the possible things Tony would have seen. “How long has it been there? Have you been watching all the time? Everything?” He whispers again, voice higher and horrified. 

  
Tony feels a tear slip down his cheek, he hadn’t even realized he was close to crying but it happens and his throat tightens, horror at his own actions crawling under his skin like an army of ants. Peter was never going to forgive him for this. Never. 

  
“I put it in about a week after you said no to joining the Avengers. I idiotically justified it to myself and… I don’t even know what to say at this point except I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry, Peter, I never meant to hurt you, I should never have done it but I definitely shouldn’t have watched it or watched you, I should have told you a lot sooner, stopped myself, I don’t know.” Tony sighs, feeling almost defeated at this point but there is enough of a spark in his chest to keep him fighting. He refuses to lose Peter, he can’t, he’s the only good thing he’s ever had in his life. He’s more important to Tony than Iron Man. “I will make it up to you, I promise, I can’t let this be done, I can’t lose you. If you want to see it, you can, it’s not as bad as you think.”

  
He regrets that offer the second it leaves its mouth and he gets the exact reaction he would expect from it too. 

  
“YOU KEPT IT ALL? Are you fucking kidding me right now? I’m MORTIFIED Tony, I don’t need to see it to know, I already know and I cannot believe you just said that,” Peter yells, and Tony hears him moving as he jumps off the bed, snatching the camera up and pointing it at his tear stained face, intentionally making sure Tony can see him. “I’m assuming you’re watching right now you sick fuck, so guess what, you don’t get to decide whether or not you lose me, because you already have. Fuck you.”

  
With that he drops the camera on the floor and stomps on it, ending the phone call at the same time. The trouble is, Stark Industries products are pretty indestructible, Tony designed them that way, can’t have a failure at a critical time. So in so many ways the next series of events are Tony’s karma. He can only sit and watch, unable to do anything while it happens. 

  
He hears Peter’s footsteps as he stomps away, the squeak of his window opening and the metallic noise of his feet on the fire escape as he descends quickly.   
Seconds later his bedroom door opens, Tony’s vantage point just perfect to be able to see up to May’s knees as she comes into the room, sounding concerned and slightly angry.

  
“Peter, watch your language in here, who are you yelling at,” she starts and then realizes the room is empty, window open and she heads that way, clearly leaning out to yell. “Peter get back here, talk to me, what’s going on.” She hollers, getting no response and evidently she can’t see him because she comes back into the room, feet stopping suddenly as she exclaims in surprise quickly.

  
“Oh, Peter, you forgot your phone fool, who were you talking to that made you so upset anyway,” she says quietly, frustrated and Tony’s body goes ice cold. Peter doesn’t have a lock on his phone, not currently. He’d taken it off after he almost got locked out permanently the last time. Tony had told him to fix it, to put some sort of security back on considering their conversations but he knew he hadn’t done it yet. Panic rising rapidly in him he tries to remember the last message he sent to Peter, was it about the case? 

  
Grabbing his own phone he quickly pulls up their text conversation just as May notes that Tony was the last phone call Peter had made, so she was in the phone. He sees his last message at the same time she does, the dick pic he’d sent when Peter was in the bathroom jerking off. Her reaction is exactly as expected. 

  
“WHAT THE FUCK?!” She yells, more sounds of horror coming from her as she quite obviously starts reading back in their conversation, seeing their messages, declarations of affection and a whole lot of dick pics and mutual masturbation. She says Oh God a few times, Tony assumes those are in reaction to seeing Peter’s own dick pics, sent to Tony and he feels sick that she has to see that, any of it. 

  
When she seems to have seen enough, crying loudly and stammering in horror he watches as her feet go by as she hurries out of the room to do the obvious and inevitable, call the police. 

  
A strange sense of numbness washes over Tony, a sense that it was all out of his hands at this point, so really, what could he do? The options were pretty straight forward as it goes. He could run, go somewhere nice like the Maldives or Mali where there was no extradition treaty with the US available to force his ass back to face justice. He’d be exiled, shamed, his entire career and reputation ruined but he’d be free. Whereas he could just sit here and await justice, his career and reputation still in tatters but at least he would get some punishment, which he really felt like he deserved right now for how he’d hurt Peter. 

  
Peter who hated him, who would never speak to him again and would probably help put him away. 

  
No, that was unlikely, Peter may be pissed but he wasn’t cruel or hateful. But there wasn’t anything Peter could do to stop the wheels of justice. 

  
So, the Maldives it was. 

  
Mechanically, Tony deletes everything from his servers, all of the footage including last night because he didn’t want some sniffing detective to find it and make things worse for Peter, embarrass him further. Tony has the ability to make the stuff well and truly disappear, never to be recovered and he’s glad for that, even if he feels a twinge of sadness at losing all those hours of Peter including them together last night. He disconnects and shuts down the camera as well, leaving it as just a dead device on the floor of Peter’s bedroom and gets up and leaves the party room for the last time. 

  
Stone faced he goes to his bedroom to pack some essentials, including Peter’s t-shirt, into a backpack he can wear while in the suit and then he heads down to the garage. Picking which suit to wear to flee the country is tough he finds. Should he go more stripped down, less weaponry but more surveillance tech to keep an eye on things in case the authorities do close in on him? Or does he go with the fully equipped big bastard so he can blow those same authorities sky high if needed?

  
Decisions, decisions. 

  
In the end he goes with the big one, it has most of the same surveillance abilities but is roomier inside, more comfortable for a long flight. Before he takes off, he disconnects the tracking abilities and communications so people like Rhodey can’t try to talk to him, convince him to come back or just plain yell at him for being who he is and for what he’s done. His final measure is to transfer everything he has financially in his American accounts to his offshore ones, where they can’t be frozen, he’s not about to lose everything to the government, he was losing enough as it was. Besides, he intends to give it to Peter anyway, he can’t let them take it first. 

  
Everything done and dusted, he climbs into the suit and takes off, telling Friday to set a course for Vaadhoo, thinking he can go from island to island until he finds one he wants to stay on. His throat tightens again as he soars up into the sky, destination tracker in front of him and he starts to leave American airspace quickly, Peter behind him and suddenly, without even thinking about it he stops himself mid-air. Floating, he stares off at the ocean in front of him, the sky bright blue, clouds fluffy and white, safety and his future in front of him and he can’t go into it. Behind him the dark clouds of a coming storm were gathering, almost befitting really. But he can’t leave things as they are with Peter. The rest of the shit be damned, he needs to talk to Peter once more at least, see him once more. 

  
Determined but terrified, he spins around and heads back to New York into the storm, knowing full well that his movements are likely being tracked by NATO on their radar, which means Rhodey, Ross and all kinds of fun people probably know what he was just about to do. The cops are probably at Peter’s place by now, the reports going over the radio, so those same fun people would also know what he was running from. Going back was probably incredibly stupid, but he had to. If it was the last thing he did, at least he’d die trying.

  
He wasn’t likely to die though, that was a bit dramatic but it felt like it.

  
Soaring over the skyscrapers and busy roads he heads towards Peter’s building and as expected there are two cop cars out front, lights flashing but sirens off. Sweeping out of sight, he heads to the side of the building where the fire escape is and drops down on the roof, quickly climbing out of the suit. 

  
He gets to the edge and is about to climb over onto the first set of stairs when he looks down and sees a very familiar brown mop of curls coming up from street level. He still looks angry, but not nearly as furious as before though he’s also clearly still upset. He doesn’t appear to have any idea what has happened since he left however and Tony needs to alert him before he gets inside. 

“Peter!” He says quickly, as quietly as he can, not wanting to be heard by May or the awaiting constabulary, but knowing that Peter’s enhanced hearing would catch it.   
Peter’s head snaps up, he’s one floor below his own window and he looks startled to see Tony there but then the anger comes back and he glares furiously up at him.   
“I know, you’re still pissed, have every damn right to be, but you left your phone at home, with your aunt there, with no lock on it,” Tony says quickly, hoping he can figure it out from there because every time he spoke he risked being heard by the wrong people. 

  
He watches as Peter goes confused for a moment and then the penny clearly drops and his face goes horrified, wide eyes glancing towards the window and mouth dropping open. 

  
“Oh shit,” he whispers, though Tony only sees his lips move and Peter freezes in place, clearly unsure of what to do. 

  
“Can… can you come up here, please,” Tony asks quietly, begs and Peter glances up at him and then at the window again, debating. 

  
After a long moment he seems to make a decision and starts climbing up, carefully peeking in his own bedroom window to make sure no one is there before hurrying by and up the rest of the floors to the roof where Tony waits on tender hooks, heart pounding out of his chest. 

  
As if reading the general mood, the sky starts to open up, rain pelting down on them, and adding to the discomfort of the entire situation.

  
“Hey,” is the best greeting Tony can come up with when Peter finally is in front of him. He probably should have prepared for or expected the next thing that happened but Tony’s predictive abilities have been rather shit of late.

  
Peter glares at him a minute longer, rain running in rivulets down his face, hair flattened on his forehead, before moving swiftly to land a solid left hook into Tony’s eye, knocking the older man sideways and making him yelp in surprise and pain. He gathers himself quickly though and straightens back up to face Peter again, standing more firm and ready for more blows but none come. Peter wasn’t a fighter unless necessary so one punch was completely out of the norm for him and it seemed he was done. 

  
Instead he looks guilty himself, flexing his hand once and glancing to the edge of the roof and back to Tony, clearly blaming himself for the shit storm going on below them and the very real possibility of Tony being locked away for a long time. Tony hates that Peter is shouldering that.

  
“It’s not your fault, none of it is, I brought all of this on myself,” Tony says quickly, bravely taking a step towards Peter and swiping the water out of his eyes. 

  
“I shouldn’t have left my phone, I knew that, but I didn’t want you calling me again and I knew she had heard me yelling and would probably come check on me, that’s why I came back, I should have known better,” Peter says in a sad voice, shaking his head slowly. “I’m so sorry Tony, I didn’t want this, I never did, I wouldn’t do this to you no matter how mad I am.” Peter grips his forehead as panic starts to come over his face. “What is gonna happen? What can we do? I should go talk to her, to them, tell them it’s not real or that it’s all fake and stop it, I can’t let you go to jail!”

  
Tony takes another brave step and gently puts his hands on Peter’s soaked arms, holding him in place and making him look at Tony. 

  
“It’s not your fault ok, this all stems from what I did, it’s my fault, stop blaming yourself,” he says firmly, holding Peter’s gaze, feeling the stupidest bit of hope that maybe, just maybe he hasn’t lost Peter, that he still cares about Tony. “I don’t think there is anything we can do to stop what’s happening down there right now, options are pretty limited at this point. But I think I’m gonna have to leave, relocate somewhere where they can’t bring me back.”

  
Peter looks horrified and terribly upset at this, eyes widening impossibly as they dart all over Tony’s face, the reality of what he’s saying sinking in. Tony can’t be sure that it’s just rain going down his face at this point, his dark brown eyes framed by his wet eyelashes, making them even sadder somehow. 

  
“You’re leaving me? Where are you going? Take me with you!” He exclaims, his own hands now gripping Tony’s arms as they stand in a strange embrace. 

  
“I am probably in enough trouble without adding kidnapping on to the list of charges Peter and you can’t leave your aunt, you know you can’t,” Tony says quickly, breaking his own heart as his brain scrambles with ways he could take Peter with him, make it work. He was going to jail, why not just go all in and break a few more laws? But May was Peter’s only family, all he had left and he was all she had left. Tony couldn’t possibly be that selfish. 

  
“I don’t want you to go though,” Peter says quietly, sniffling but then realizing himself. “But I get it, and I don’t want you to go to prison, I would rather know you are safe somewhere than that.” He admits even more quietly, sounding defeated. They stand quietly for a long moment, the sound of the rain pelting off of the flat roof feeling deafeningly loud. Then Peter’s head snaps up. “Wait, what if May were to give consent for the relationship? That can happen right? Would make it legal and keep you safe here,” Peter asks hopefully, brown eyes imploring Tony to agree to this suggestion but it wasn’t really an option legally if the authorities were already involved, and it seemed extremely unlikely that May would do so, considering the situation. That isn’t what is sticking out most to Tony at the moment though.

  
“You still want to be with me?” He asks incredulously, distinctly remembering being called a sick fuck and told to fuck off in their last conversation. “After what I did?” 

  
Peter closes his eyes slowly and when he opens them, he looks a touch exasperated with the man in front of him.

  
“Yes, I love you idiot, that hasn’t changed and while you aren’t forgiven yet,” he says fiercely, clearly meaning it. “That doesn’t mean I want to lose you. I’m angry Tony, I feel betrayed and embarrassed and frankly disgusted by what you did, but in the end I know you, and there is even a small part of me that isn’t even surprised by what you did if I’m honest.”

  
Tony tries not to be offended by that, didn’t have the right to be because frankly he’s right. Instead he focuses on the joy of the fact that Peter isn’t done with him. Which is unfortunate because Tony still has to leave. 

  
“I love you too,” he says clearly, meaning it with every fibre of his being. “But May isn’t gonna give consent Peter, we both know that, and even if she did, it may be too late now,” he adds softly and Peter shakes his head once. 

  
“Let me talk to her, maybe I can stop it from going further, explain to her, tell her more about us than what she saw in those messages,” he declares before reddening suddenly. “Oh God, those messages! Oh fuck!” He stutters out, burying his face in his hands in mortification and Tony sympathizes entirely, since his was the first dick she saw after all. All hard and standing up proudly.

  
“Yeah, I know, I feel you on that one,” Tony says with a humorless laugh, knowing that his embarrassment at that was only slightly what poor Peter was feeling about Tony watching him at some very personal moments. He probably deserves this. “But still, I’m not sure she’s gonna be convinced Pete, as much as I wish she could be, and I can’t wait around really, I’m not sure I’m gonna be able to get away now at this point if I’m honest.” The window of escape was rapidly slamming closed and if an arrest warrant is issued, he will be brought down out of the sky by any means necessary, Rhodey being his friend be damned. 

  
“How long will it take for them to investigate and issue an arrest warrant,” Peter asks, seeming to read Tony’s mind. 

  
“Not long, they have a shit ton of evidence on that phone Pete, they don’t really need much else and considering both you and I are in the wind right now that’s probably going to amplify things,” Tony replies. 

  
Peter considers it a minute.

  
“My phone is my private property, don’t they need a warrant to search it? Even if I don’t have a lock, I didn’t give any permission for them to look at it,” he reasons out.

  
“You’re underage, your aunt can give permission,” Tony points out and Peter’s shoulders sag in disappointment and frustration. “Pete, I can’t stay here, if I get to somewhere like the Maldives, I’ll be fine but there’s nowhere for me to hide here.”

  
“Tony, you're a damn billionaire and Iron Man, you have to be able to find somewhere to lay low to give me time to talk to May,” Peter says sarcastically. “Bruce Banner hid for years, we can figure this out.”

“Bruce hid in South America, he got out of dodge,” Tony points out and Peter gives him a look. 

  
“Call Natasha, maybe she will know of some place you can hideout?” Peter suggests and this time Tony gives him a look.

  
He tries to picture that phone call, admitting to Natasha what he’d done and then asking for her help. She’d just track him down and beat him senseless. Peter seems to realize the same thing and drops his face into his hands in defeat. 

  
Mentally running through his options again, Tony tries to come up with some sort of solution. He still didn’t think May would agree to call off the cops and it was probably too late anyway, but he can’t help but agree that Peter can at least try, it was better than kidnapping him off to South Asia. But how long would they try to convince her for? Feasibly, how long could Tony hide while Peter tries and fails?

  
“Wait!” Peter says suddenly, looking back up at Tony with a quick smile. “The apartment right above mine is empty right now, you can hide out in there, be close enough that I can come talk to you while I work on May but they won’t think of looking there because why would you stay so close to me when it was so dangerous,” he says excitedly, looking up at Tony hopefully. 

  
Tony considers it, loves the idea of being so close to Pete actually and starts to think of ways he could actually just rent the apartment by paying cash or something without leaving any paper trail but he’s already moved everything offshore. But if it was empty, it could work. Then again, how long is it likely to stay empty and the landlord would probably be doing showings and stuff. He was better off just heading out of the country, as much as the idea pained him so much now, he had to leave, it was the best option. 

  
As though reading Tony’s mind and all of the considerations regarding the apartment Peter quickly grabs his face, eyes going to the new bruise forming under Tony’s eye with a bit of guilt on his face before he returns to convincing the older man to stay. 

  
“Look, just for tonight at least, ok, just give me one night to talk to May, to figure something out ok, please?” He begs and Tony’s heart breaks more. The longer he stayed, the faster his chances of getting out were slipping away. One night would be too much. 

  
“Pete, I can’t, I’m losing time to get away right now as it is, if I haven’t completely already,” Tony says quietly, hand coming up to cup Peter’s wet cheek gently, memorizing the feel of it as fear and sadness settle over him that this may be the last time he sees Peter. 

  
“Exactly, you might have already lost the chance, why don’t we find out before you just take flight and things get worse when you could have just stayed here,” Peter spits out, hands reaching out to pull Tony’s phone from his pocket. He’d made sure he disconnected any tracking and communications from it as well, but wanted to keep it to be able to maybe text Peter at some point. 

  
He types in Tony’s password quickly, somehow having figured it out (though it wasn’t difficult considering it was Peter123) and he starts checking police radar and bulletins. It was all already programmed onto Tony’s phone to watch that sort of stuff for any activity that the Avengers might want to pay attention to. Oddly enough that was how they found the case that Tony had sent Peter to investigate earlier. 

  
The screen lights up Peter’s face in the rapidly dimming light as the sun sets, the streetlights below starting to come on and Tony stares at him, absorbing every detail as much as he can, feeling more and more desperate to memorize everything before it’s too late and Peter is gone. 

  
In that moment he realizes he can’t leave. How could he possibly take off, be a coward and leave the person he loved so much to deal with all of the shit that Tony had started. The police investigation was going to be hell as it is, with poor Peter being forced to discuss their relationship in detail. While his name may not be released publicly, there was a good chance people would find out and he would have to deal with that at school. Not to mention the irreparable damage it could do to his relationship with his aunt. How dare Tony think he could just sail off to some tropical island to sun his ass to avoid jail time. How dare he get mopey about that fact, having every intent to leave Peter behind to land head first in the shit storm that was brewing. 

  
“Shit,” Tony whispers quietly and Peter glances up at him and then back to the phone.

  
“I don’t see anything, I mean, maybe they haven’t really started doing anything yet, maybe they are still talking to May, that could buy us some time, you could stay a little longer,” Peter says hopefully, eyes willing Tony to stay. 

  
“I’m not going anywhere Pete,” he says firmly, hand back up on Peter’s cheek, raindrops dripping off his eyelashes as his doe eyes gaze up at Tony. “I can’t leave you to deal with this alone, how could I? I’m a bastard for even thinking of going.”

  
“NO, no, you aren’t, I mean I get it, I don’t want you to go to jail either, I want to help keep you safe,” Peter hurries out, brows pulling together in worry. 

  
“I know Peter and I appreciate that, but I can’t take off and put you through the hell that’s coming alone, that would be so incredibly unfair of me, I love you too much to do that to you.” Tony leans forward to press his forehead to Peter’s, feeling his breath on his lips as Peter’s body sags slightly with relief. “Let’s do this together and what happens, happens.”

  
“Well give me a chance to talk to my aunt, if the cops aren’t doing anything yet, maybe she hasn’t told them much yet and I might have a chance to stop her before she does,” Peter says hopefully and firmly. Seeming to decide with himself that he can do this, fix it and Tony wants to feel the same hope but it fizzles in his chest pretty quickly. He nods anyway, willing to at least let Peter try. 

  
“Ok, come on, let’s go. Bring the suit, you can’t leave it there,” Peter demands, pushing Tony towards the metal sentry waiting to be used and Tony quickly commands it to follow him, knowing he couldn’t climb down the narrow stairs wearing it. 

  
Peter peeks over the edge first, making sure no one is nearby to see them and then he slips over the edge and quickly climbs down to the first window below them, testing it to see if it is locked and huffing in annoyance when he discovers that it is. 

  
“Do you have any tools on you?” He asks Tony, looking up at him and he considers the options and then goes to the suit to quickly grab the small cutting laser he had fitted this particular one with. 

  
Carrying it down to Peter carefully, body tingling with fear of being seen and caught, he quickly uses the beam of light to cut through the lock below the glass and Peter lifts it and motions for Tony to get inside of the dark room, standing back as the suit flies through, following obediently. 

  
Once they are both inside, Peter nods at him.

  
“Ok, stay here, I’ll bring up food and stuff as soon as I get a chance, but I’m gonna go see what’s going on downstairs, see what’s happening and where May is and I will start talking to her, ok?” Peter nods again, to himself mostly, and goes to go through the window, putting on a brave front and Tony hurries forward to stop him. 

  
“Wait, Pete, just, wait a second,” he says quickly, reaching the younger man and grabbing his face to pull him forward into a kiss. He wanted at least one more of those as well for his memories and Peter squawks in surprise slightly but gives in after a second, kissing Tony back just as fiercely, dragging it out for as long as he can before he finally pulls back and stares hard at him.

  
“You still aren’t forgiven,” are his parting words as he closes the window and disappears down the wet stairs, the darkness and downpour engulfing him now and Tony turns back to the empty dark room he stood in, shoes squeaking on the floor, wondering just how in hell he ever got here in life. 


	10. Chapter 10

“Anthony Edward Stark, get your ass up,” a voice barks at him, startling him awake with a kick on the bottom of his foot for good measure. At some point Tony had sat down on the floor near the window, back to the wall where he couldn’t be seen, to wait for Peter to come back but he had fallen asleep. His clothes have dried to that fun crispy sort of texture fabric has when it gets rained on and then air dried and it’s not comfortable to say the least as he scrambles to stand up, eyes searching the dark for the source of the voice. 

  
A moment later Nick Fury steps into the dim light coming through the window from the streetlights outside, rain still streaming down the glass in a foreboding sort of way and Tony’s heart starts to pound in his chest. It can’t be good that Fury is here. 

  
“What in fuck do you think you are doing?” Fury demands, good eye glaring at Tony fiercely as he crosses his arms across his chest, black leather coat squeaking from the dampness slightly. “He is 16 fucking years old Tony, Jesus Christ.”

  
Ok, so he knew. There was that. 

  
Tony’s mind scrambles to come up with some sort of explanation, excuse, reason why this all made sense but he wasn’t so ridiculous as to not be able to see how this would look from the outside. Hell if it wasn’t him doing it, he’d be disgusted himself. But he knows Peter, knows their relationship, how symbiotic they are, how in some strange, bizarre way, they made complete and total sense together. 

  
“I… love him,” Tony finally replies quietly, shoulders sagging in defeat. He’d rather just admit the truth at this point, knows that at least Fury might respect that, even if he didn’t like it. 

Nick shakes his head slowly, staring at Tony as though he’s completely pathetic, ridiculous and Tony averts his eyes to the floor to get away from it. 

  
“Be that as it may, did you even stop to think about what this was going to do? The impact your actions would have on others? On Peter?” Nick demands, taking a step towards Tony. “The entirety of the Avengers reputation is already in trouble, the organization that I have been working on building for over a decade and you could bring it down so easily because you got led by your dick, to a kid.”

  
“It is more than that Nick, it always has been or I wouldn’t have done it,” Tony says firmly, feeling a little incensed that his relationship with Peter was being reduced to nothing more than base physicality. “I mean it, I love him, more than I have ever loved anyone.”

  
Nick shakes his head again, now looking at Tony as though he may be dealing with someone in the midst of some sort of mental break. 

  
“You better be glad I have friends in the police department here in New York, and that those friends just happened to be the ones who answered the call Mrs. May Parker made earlier and that they respected me just enough to let me know what they had learned before they went further with the case themselves, because trust me, they really wanted to lock your perverted ass up when they saw what you were up to. They didn’t want to drop it but they did after I assured them I would take care of it.” 

  
Tony processes this, relief crawling over him that he may be in the clear, that Nick has made the whole legal situation go away. But then, where was Peter? Was he still talking to May? How much did she know at this point because she would probably not be happy with the cops not pursuing it and dropping the case without even investigating.

  
“Where’s Peter? And May? What do they know?” Tony asks quietly.

  
“The correct response to what I just told you is thank you Tony,” Nick spits and Tony shrinks slightly.

  
“Yes, I’m sorry, you’re right, thank you, I don’t really know what to say,” he admits, still feeling a little overwhelmed.

  
“I couldn’t let Iron Man be hauled off in cuffs for being a pervert as much as I think you deserve it right now, but I had to prioritize, and you need to understand that this save I got you, it comes with some serious repercussions, you owe me big time Stark.” 

  
Tony’s stomach turns a little with the disgust he hears in Nick’s voice, he hated that someone he respected so much clearly didn’t have any respect for him anymore, and didn’t even seem to like him at this point. He’d never been scared of Nick before but now he could feel it and he nods quickly, knowing he really didn’t have a choice though he was scared of what these repercussions would be. 

  
“Where’s Peter?” He asks again, worried about what was happening to him, what he knew and what would happen to him in the future. 

  
Nick sighs loudly, staring at Tony like he was incorrigible, that maybe he was rethinking helping him tonight if this was what he was going to be dealing with.

  
They both jump when the window squeaks suddenly, Peter starting to talk before he’s even fully through it. 

  
“Tony, I’m sorry, she won’t listen, she’s waiting for the cops to come back, they said they’d go investigate and come back and update her. She thinks you’ve brainwashed me or…” he stops suddenly when he notes Nick standing in the room and his shoes make a squishing sound as he nervously moves from one foot to the other.

  
“The cops aren’t coming back Peter, I’ve taken care of it,” Nick states, giving Tony an evil eye when the older man moves a few inches closer to Peter. 

  
“Wha… what? Who, I’m sorry, who are you?” Peter asks carefully, trying to stay polite but clearly having trouble comprehending what was happening right now. His eyes dart to Tony and then back to Nick, full of questions.

  
“Nick Fury, Intelligence,” Nick introduces himself. “And someone who has friends in the right places when necessary. There will be no charges or case against Tony, it’s gone away. But you best believe I’m not dropping it.”

  
Peter shrinks under Nicks voice, recognition setting in, making him look small and intimidated and Tony hates it. 

  
“What about my aunt? Will they tell her?” He asks quietly.

  
“Your aunt will be told that there wasn’t enough evidence to pursue it, even though there sure as hell is,” Nick explains and Tony suspects it’s unlikely May is going to drop it. “I will continue to monitor police activity but it’s up to you to work on convincing her to stop it, show her that the relationship is finished and you just want to move on so Tony here doesn’t end up in prison.”

  
Peter’s eyes widen at that, going to Tony again and then back to Nick.

  
“I’m not a moron Peter, I know you become the age of consent in just over five months but I’m here to tell you right now that you will not be seeing Tony at all in that time, it’s done. You, will go to school, go home, obey your aunt and forget about Tony Stark, am I clear?” Nick declares, leaving no room for argument. 

  
“What if I say no?” Peter asks meekly. 

  
“Then Tony goes to live on the Raft, permanently,” Nick replies coolly and panic runs down Tony’s spine. Would Nick seriously lock him up in the ocean prison just to keep them apart? How would that even work? He was Iron Man, what if he was needed?

  
“And you Tony, will park your ass at that compound, do what you are supposed to be doing, work, and leave Peter Parker alone, or the consequences will be the same, and don’t think I won’t be keeping a close eye on you either, you best believe I’m going to be watching you.” 

  
The room is silent for a few minutes while the two guilty parties mull this over. It was only for five months, Tony knows they could live through that but he senses that it will end up being more permanent of a split, though he can’t see how. Legally, not even Nick can stop them once Peter is 17, and Nick is well aware of Tony’s morality issues. 

  
“Understood?” Nick asks again and they glance at each other, eyes meeting for a moment before turning back to Fury and nodding at the same time. They couldn’t argue with him, Tony especially. It was because of Nick he wasn’t in prison right now but Nick also had the power to put his ass in prison far away. He was on a tight leash, he knew it but it was worth it to prevent Peter from having to deal with all of the police and an investigation. 

  
“Good. Peter, go home, stay home,” Nick commands and Peter hesitates, looking at Tony again.

  
“Can we say goodbye?” He asks quietly and Tony silently prays Nick will allow it. 

  
“NO. Jesus Christ, just go kid,” Nick spits, emphasizing the word kid loudly and Peter’s jaw tightens, anger flashing across his face. 

  
In a final act of defiance, knowing it was probably a bad idea, Peter marches across the room to Tony and pulls him in to a tight hug, fingers digging in as he grasps handfuls of Tony’s shirt. The older man returns it with just as much force without even thinking, desperate to just feel Peter in his arms again, once more at least before he’s gone for a long time, maybe forever. He feels more than hears Peter say I love you into his neck and he whispers it back before Nick loudly clears his throat and they part. It’s short, too short, not enough, but it’ll have to do, it’s better than nothing. 

  
Not wanting to push his luck any further, Peter hurries out the window, tears shining on his cheeks as he goes, rain joining them as he starts down the steps.

  
“He’s gone Tony, he won’t be coming back. He’s a kid and five months is a lifetime, he will have forgotten about you in less than three. This was a foolish, ridiculous thing to do, to yourself and to him, I can’t even begin to understand what in hell you were thinking.” Nick says quietly and Tony almost laughs. He knows Peter far better than Nick, who just saw him as some typical kid, but Tony knew better. Peter would be counting down those months and days just as much as Tony. The question was, what would Nick do when he realized he hadn’t permanently separated them like he thought. “Where in hell did you even meet him? How in hell do you go from being Iron Man and a critical part of the Avengers, not to mention a notorious playboy billionaire to having an extremely illegal affair with a 16-year-old kid from Queens?”

  
“He’s Spiderman,” Tony answers simply. Finally turning away from the window to look at Nick full on. “Spiderman, the guy flying around in the red and blue suit, kicking criminal ass, the guy who caught Vulture and saved our asses by stopping the theft of all of that stuff in the plane, that’s a 16-year-old high school student from Queens.” He waits a minute to let Nick process that, the man’s face dropping shock as he mentally connects the dots. “That’s who Peter Parker is, a brave, smart, kind, empathetic, hardworking genius superhero who doesn’t take credit for what he does. Now, am I taking the suit over there back to the compound or are you driving me so you can keep that eye on me?”

  
Nick’s jaw tightens, realizing that he may have underestimated Peter and that also he might be losing out on a possible new recruit to the Avengers, Tony can read it on his face. Saving the entire organization is why he just saved Tony’s ass, no matter how despicable he thinks the crime Tony committed is.

  
“I already asked him to join, to move to the compound and work with the rest of the team, he declined, felt that he wasn’t ready for it and he needed to do some more self-improvement first. Suit or car?” 

  
“Oh you’re riding with me, don’t think I’m letting you out of my sight.”


	11. Chapter 11

Tony would never admit it to anyone, but he had watched all of the Twilight movies and right now he felt like Bella in New Moon when Edward had left her. Just sitting, day by day watching the world go by outside while inside he felt dead, stripped bare. The worst part was the sinking fear that had started to wiggle its way in that Fury was right, Peter would move on and forget Tony quickly, realize their relationship had been a huge mistake and would never want to see him again. He’d been so self-assured the night they left Peter’s building that there was no way anything would stop how they felt about each other and that as soon as they could be, they would be together again. But with so many long days stretching past him and before him, he can’t help but over think and worry himself to death about it. 

  
As such he turns into a barely functioning shell. He does as he is told, gets up every day, goes into the office, looks at files about potential threats and requests for improvements to various technology from phones to protective gear. All of it mundane, none of it what he would like to be doing at all. He misses working in his lab actually building things with his hands, creating new technology and bringing his seemingly insane ideas to life. But he misses Peter more. 

  
He eats, sometimes, mostly just living on smoothies and he basically stops showering and shaving or worrying about the state of the clothes he puts on. After about a month of him stinking up the joint, he gets a terse email from Nick informing him that a new addition to his conditions was being added, he had to shower and wear clean clothes. Feeling like he didn’t really have a choice in the matter, Tony complies, but still doesn’t shave and starts playing Possibility by Lykke Li on repeat in his office as a form of protest against those who complained about his personal hygiene habits. He’s waiting for the email from Fury to make him stop the music but it hasn’t arrived yet. 

  
The upshot to the looped song is it keeps people the hell away from him unless they need to drop off or pick up something from him, each interaction kept short and perfunctory and that works just fine for Tony. 

  
And so the days go, one after the other, same as the one before and he’s miserable. He has lost all interest in anything he used to enjoy, he isn’t properly taking care of himself and his own personal self-loathing has hit an all-time high.

  
He knows the clinical name, depression, but he’s not about to actually try to talk to anyone about it. He knows the solution, but he can’t have it, so he resigns himself to this for now. 

  
He still has no idea what, if anything, is going to happen when Peter’s birthday arrives. Nick hasn’t said anything, he won’t even tell Tony how Peter is doing, instead getting very terse the few times Tony had asked so he had stopped asking. But he seriously doubts the other man is going to just step back and let them pick up where they left off, even though it would no longer be illegal. And Tony is kind of scared to ask. 

  
Thinking about that entire situation brings his mind back to wondering how Peter was and whether Peter would even want to see him again. Tony wishes so much that he could talk to him, find out how he’s feeling, if he’s ok, safe. But there isn’t any way he can, and he’s definitely tried to think of a way. His own hidden phone that he had kept may not have a connection to the compound anymore, but he suspects that Nick has Peter’s phone tapped and is keeping an eye on who he communicates with, so that was out. He didn’t have the camera in Peter’s room anymore, and wasn’t sure he could safely access the footage if he tried anyway, so he’s completely cut off. Which he knows was the intention, but it’s still frustrating. 

  
After two months of Tony moping around, refusing to speak to anyone unless necessary and Lykke Li long past having overstayed her welcome, Nick comes to visit the compound. And he’s not alone. 

  
Tony is at his desk in his office, head back in his chair and eyes closed as he takes a short nap since he had finished everything they had brought him and had nothing better to do while he waited for more work, when his door opens and his music abruptly cuts off. 

  
“I was listening to that,” Tony states without opening his eyes, assuming one of the others in the office had had enough and tried to take matters into their own hands. It wouldn’t be the first time truthfully. 

  
“You’re done listening to that,” Nick replies and Tony’s eyes snap open, adjusting quickly he finds Nick standing opposite him on the other side of his desk, Natasha next to him on his right, Ross on his left. “Time to get your shit together Tony, we have work to do, enough is enough.”

  
Tony didn’t like the sound of that, he also didn’t like the pretty redhead giving him a look of pity either. He wonders how much Nick has told her. He had promised Tony that first night when they got back to the compound that he wouldn't tell anyone else about Tony’s indiscretion (Nick’s word, not Tony’s) but he’s not entirely sure Fury would keep his word on that. 

  
“What are you talking about?” Tony asks carefully, eyes going back to Nick suspiciously. 

  
“Stark Industries is holding a soiree here on the weekend, you will be expected to be there next to Ms. Potts to show support and to prove to the media and the public that we aren’t a complete mess right now,” Ross supplies and Tony rolls his eyes and then catches a fierce look from Nick. This wasn’t a request, his attendance was clearly compulsory. 

  
“Who all is going to be there? Why is Natasha here? I thought she was on the shit list after Germany?” Tony asks, eyeing her again before returning his attention to Ross.

  
“She signed the accords, her indiscretions in Germany are already forgotten and she’s a good representative of this organization,” Ross answers with a sigh, as though Tony should already know this. “Saturday at 8, be shaved, clean and dressed appropriately.”

  
His instructions given, Ross turns and leaves, Nick and Nat following after, though more slowly and Natasha tries to give Tony a smile that he glowers at, making her brows flicker in confusion before she leaves as well. 

  
He feels a pang of annoyance that she likely would be staying at the compound with him. He quite enjoyed having the run of the place, it meant he could live like a pig and get away with it. 

  
As soon as they are gone he turns his music back on and sees a few people react with exasperation outside his office, giving him just the tiniest shred of joy in his chest. 

  
At the end of the day he trudges back to the living quarters, intent on grabbing a granola bar or something and burying himself in the blankets but there is no such luck when he gets to the kitchen and finds Natasha there, stirring something on the stove. 

  
“Hey Tony, I made dinner, grab a seat,” she says with a bit of forced cheer, looking at him out of the corner of her eye as he glowers again. Oddly he finds himself obeying though, plopping down on one of the stools and watching her cook. He remembers watching Peter cook at that same stove, making them breakfast while wearing the t-shirt that Tony now had stashed in his bedroom, smiling and laughing and a spear of longing goes down Tony’s spine. It tightens his throat and he has to move his eyes down to the countertop to try to get control of himself. When he looks back up, Natasha is looking at him with pity again, mouth drawn down at the sides. She says nothing as she dishes out some pasta and puts it in front of him and he makes no move to eat it. 

  
He and food had a bit of a complicated relationship now, he was just never hungry and when he did eat, it just didn’t sit well so he didn’t bother much. He knows he’s lost weight, but isn’t sure he cares. 

  
“Tony, I know things have been tough, and you’ve been through a lot, with everything you learned about your parents and I know you have to feel betrayed by Steve, but I’m worried about you, so is Nick, that’s why he called me,” Nat says quietly as she sits down next to him, in Peter’s seat. At least now he knows Nick hasn’t told her the truth about him and Peter. 

  
“I don’t need to be psychoanalyzed Nat,” he replies. He looks around the room for the bottle of scotch he remembers leaving on the counter and finds that it’s gone, along with the rest of the mess he’d left behind. Natasha had been quite busy it seemed. 

  
“No, but I think you do need a friend to talk to. Nick thinks you’re depressed and making some rash decisions because of that, he thought maybe you would be more open to talking to me than him,” she says softly, hand landing on his arm and he misses their old relationship when it was mostly combative and cold and she basically hated him. 

  
“Nick is full of shit and I don’t need anything from you,” he replies hotly, standing quickly and storming out of the room. 

  
Evidently Fury thought his entire relationship with Peter, his very real feelings for the younger man were just the result of him having a mental breakdown, well isn’t that just nice. 

  
“Tony!” Natasha calls down the hall, following him quickly. “Stop, please, you clearly aren’t doing ok, you need help.”

  
Tony responds by flipping her the bird before slamming his bedroom door behind him and digging for Peter’s t-shirt in his bed, where it spent most of its time. The scent was fading, but it was still Peter’s, the soft cotton bringing on a wash of memories every time he touched it and he found it quite soothing to just run it through his fingers. He often feels sad that Peter doesn’t have something of Tony’s for the same purpose. 

  
He stays like that for a few hours, finally falling asleep with the shirt still in his hands and fully dressed. The next morning, Natasha tries again, this time with breakfast but he just makes his smoothie quickly and heads out to the office, declaring he has work to do and leaves her behind. He tries to sneak back in at the end of the day, but she was a former spy, that was never going to work. 

  
“Tony, stop avoiding me,” she barks at him as he tries to tiptoe past the kitchen area. Her change of tone is familiar and more comforting than the sympathy she had been hitting him with for the last day. “Sit down and talk to me, now,” she commands. 

  
Tony sighs loudly and leans against the wall with his arms crossed, glaring at her. 

  
“Fine, stand, but you’re eating something,” she declares, crossing the room and shoving a plate at him, it appears to be the same pasta from the night before. He stays put and doesn’t move to take it and she visibly becomes more frustrated. “I’ll dump it on your damn head Stark, don’t think I won’t.” 

  
He believes her, knows her well enough to know she wouldn’t lie about something like that. Grumbling he takes the plate from her and puts it down on the counter nearby, making her sigh loudly. 

  
“Have you looked at yourself lately? You’ve lost weight, your hair and beard are out of control and I hear you stopped showering for a while, you want to explain that?”   
He shrugs in response, mouth a tight line. 

  
“Tony, I know things went to shit in Germany, that you never wanted any of that to happen, with the accords and the fight but Steve never meant to hurt you, you know that, you have to know that and he reached out,” she presses, going back to being more sympathetic and he rolls his eyes.

  
“This isn’t about Steve, I’m past that,” Tony spits out and her face turns curious. 

  
“I highly doubt that but I’ll bite, if it’s not about Steve, what is this about? Why is Tony Stark so depressed and behaving like a miserable asshole?” She asks, one groomed brow up now. 

  
“I can’t tell you,” he answers simply. Because as much as he almost wanted to tell her right now, the truth, his feelings for Peter and how much it hurt to be away from him he knew that like Nick, she wouldn’t understand. She would judge him, possibly kill him and would assume he’d gone off the rails like Fury did. 

  
“You can’t tell me,” she repeats, exasperated now. 

  
“No, I can’t, I honestly can’t, but you needn’t worry about me, in fact, just leave me alone honestly, I’m not your problem,” he replies before turning and leaving. He’s aware how cutting his words could be, but he was scared of revealing too much and figured it was best to just end the conversation and possibly their friendship. Maybe he really was off the rails. He really wishes he could talk to Peter, just hearing his voice would make him feel better at this point. 

  
She does as he asked though, the next few days are quiet and it’s clear she’s avoiding him as much as he’s avoiding her. Saturday arrives and he spends most of the day hiding in bed until Rhodey bangs on his door and tells him to get up and get ready so they could go over what his role was going to be that night. Begrudgingly he gets up and showers and finally shaves for the first time in over two months. His hair is long enough to be annoying but he manages to get it smoothed back as best as he can. He finds a tux in his closet and gets dressed mechanically, frowning slightly when he has to use a belt to make his pants fit better when they used to be perfectly tailored to his body. Finished, he examines himself in the mirror and sighs loudly. He still looks like shit, the black circles under his eyes pronounced along with his pale gaunt skin and hollow cheeks. But there was nothing to be done about it now. 

  
He meets Rhodey in the kitchen where he makes another smoothie and drinks it while he listens to his instructions numbly. 

  
“Let Pepper do all of the talking please, but stand next to her while she does her speech so the media can see you two as a united front. I doubt you’ve noticed but there has been a lot of rumors about trouble in Stark Industries and after all of the work Pepper has done to get the company back on a good footing again since you cancelled the weapons manufacturing, she needs your help now,” Rhodey instructs like a drill sergeant. “Mingle, be nice, talk to people, don’t drink, we both know what you get like when you drink but show people that Tony Stark is still an active part of the company.”

  
Tony nods, finishing his drink and following the other man out and down to the main conference room where there are already 100’s of people milling around in glittery clothing with elegant decorations and Stark Industries logos adorning everything. Tony spots Natasha near the main door with Ross, dressed in a skintight black dress, her hair in thick red curls and cleavage on display just enough to be tasteful but intriguing. There was a time Tony would have drooled over her, flirted outrageously but now he feels nothing, he’d had better, knew there was someone much better out there. 

  
Rhodes hauls him right up to Pepper who’s jaw drops at Tony’s appearance and she starts to ask if he’s alright but he hand waves away the question. He wasn’t interested in repeating the same conversation he had with Natasha. Instead he just quietly follows her about the room, shakes hands with people when they approach him and says next to nothing. 

  
When Pepper makes her speech, he stands next to her at the podium with his hands neatly folded in front of himself and his face blank, eyes losing focus in all of the lights and flashes from the media’s cameras. He has no doubt his appearance and behavior will be heavily scrutinized by all of the press come tomorrow, but he’s not sure what he can do to fix it or make it better. He did exactly as he was told to do, but he knows he’s not been the Tony Stark of old tonight, flirting and joking and charming as hell with a couple of scotches in his belly. 

  
As he stares into one camera lens he has a sudden thought, one that makes a flurry of emotions run through him from fear to anticipation and joy. Peter would likely be watching the coverage of tonight, he could see Tony. This was both good and bad and suddenly Tony feels even more self-conscious about his appearance but he also feels happy because maybe it would remind Peter that Tony is still there, keep him from moving on and forgetting Tony. If he hasn’t already that is. He wishes he could see himself through Peter’s eyes, know what Peter is thinking about him right now. 

  
The room melts away and he stops hearing the noise when another thought creeps into his mind. What if he could see through Peter’s eyes, what if he had that ability and what if he could use that ability to do more?

  
The Spiderman suit. The baby monitor protocol. 

  
Tony never disconnected that, didn’t think he needed to and in his rush to delete everything else from his secret server (which he definitely regretted now because he could be watching it and reminiscing every night), he hadn’t worried about disconnecting the suit. Spiderman wasn’t officially a member of the Avengers, so Tony had left the baby monitor on the private server and the connection still hadn’t been discovered and he knows Nick has had people checking. What if he could get into the party room and connect to the suit again and somehow connect with Peter through it? He’d have to be wearing the suit of course and he wasn’t sure Peter even did that anymore, he hadn’t seen any new videos on YouTube but he had to try.

  
“Tony? Tony?” Peppers voice breaks through his thoughts suddenly and he comes back to the room with a rush of noise in his ears. She has finished her speech but they are still on stage and everyone is staring at him curiously now. 

  
“Sorry, what?” He asks quietly and she frowns at him slightly, looking concerned. 

  
“I asked if you wanted to add anything,” she says just as quietly and Tony quickly shakes his head. He’d been told to let her do the talking and so he will. 

  
Still staring at him strangely for a moment longer, Pepper turns back to the amassed people and puts on a smile again, telling them that Tony was at a loss for words for once and everyone titters in the audience. She quickly wraps it up after that and he is grateful to get off the stage. All he wants to do is get to the party room and check the suit, see if his theory is correct but he’s worried about leaving, that he will get in shit for it. 

  
As soon as he’s off the stage, Pepper, Ross, Nat, Rhodey and Nick circle around him, all of them staring at him and he quickly starts lying to get away from them, to go do what he desperately wants to do. 

  
“Is it alright if I just head back, the speech is done, I’ve mingled but I’m actually not feeling very well,” he asks quietly, trying to sound meek and poorly and Pepper looks sympathetic immediately. 

  
“Of course, you don’t look well at all, maybe you should see a doctor,” she suggests and everyone else is forced to agree with her.

  
“No, no, I’m sure it’s just a bug or something, I’m just gonna get some rest,” he says quickly before she suggests hauling him off to the hospital now. 

  
He glances at Nick and Ross to make sure he’s officially dismissed and gets a couple of nods and then tells them all good night and hurries away. 

  
His body tingles with anticipation the entire walk back, heart pounding in his chest and he has to remind himself to be careful several times. To be sure he hasn’t been followed, he goes to his bedroom first and gets changed, quickly turning the TV on to a news station that was covering the party to get a live feed to see if everyone, Natasha in particular, were still in attendance. Once he’s satisfied, but still very nervous, he cracks the door open and peers out and then on silent feet he creeps to the lab, closing and locking the door behind him before heading over to the party room, which had sat unused since Peter had discovered the camera. 

  
It’s dark when he steps in but his chair is there along with the screen and he quickly instructs Friday to go incognito, keeping everything off of the servers in the compound and to only use his private password protected one. Once connected, he tells the computer to connect to the suit and as expected, it’s a dark screen. Peter isn’t currently wearing it. But he has access now to its logs, including recordings of when he did have it on and it turned out he had still been wearing it, doing the odd patrol here and there. Tony quickly pulls up video from his last one, a sense of relief pouring through him when he hears Peter’s voice talking to Karen, enough to bring tears to his eyes. Peter doesn’t sound particularly happy though, not like himself at all, his voice is sad and his words mechanical as he takes down a bike thief. It’s a short patrol, and unfortunately Peter says very little through the hour. 

  
Tony looks at the list of logs going further back and notes that there was at least three weeks he didn’t put the suit on at all after they had been discovered. He wants to sit and watch all of video recordings, but he feels guilty for it. Him watching Peter with the camera is what had gotten them discovered in the first place and ruined everything. Not only that, he didn’t have much time now anyway, Natasha would be back soon and he needed to get back to his room so this new discovery of his wouldn’t be found out. With the time he thinks he has left he does some fiddling with the computers, trying to find a way that he could talk to Peter and Peter could talk to him while he was wearing the suit. It’s not too difficult but requires an update to the suit when it’s turned on to get functional, which was only when Peter was wearing it. Glancing again at the list of logs of when Peter had been using it, he sees that the younger man was mostly going out on patrols after school during the week, at around 3:30. Tony sighs, frustrated, he was stuck in his office at that time. He needed to find a way to send a message to Peter through the suit, telling him to wear it or at least the mask, later on. But he’s not sure what time. He was done with work at 5, but Natasha was there. He needs her to leave, as soon as possible. 

  
Growling, he’s unable to find a way to get a message through and when he sees the time on the clock, he knows he’s got to get back to his bedroom before he gets discovered.

  
Shutting everything down, he disconnects and locks his server again before silently creeping out of the party room and then the lab, tiptoeing down the hall to his bedroom and slipping through the door. He’s just gotten under the covers with Peter’s shirt when he hears Nat’s shoes tapping down the hall and knows she’s home and he breathes out in relief. 

  
He decides that he’s happy at least that he’s discovered this new option, that was a good thing and something to focus on. He just needed to talk to Peter and now maybe he could.


	12. Chapter 12

Tony hates houseguests. He always has. He just doesn’t like people up in his stuff, occupying his space and generally invading his personal areas. He’s well aware that the compound living quarters weren’t actually just his, designated for him alone, but after living in them alone for so long, they kind of felt like his. 

  
So the fact that Natasha won’t fucking leave is a major problem for him. Not just because he hates houseguests though, but because her near constant presence (seriously, does this woman not have anything else to do) is keeping him from being able to get back to the party room to try to contact Peter. 

  
He waits for her to get bored, or to get called away for some mission or another or just to go back to looking for Bruce but a week after the party she’s still there. And because she doesn’t really have a role in the office, she just hangs around the living area, cooking for Tony (she’d gone back to trying to get him to eat), cleaning up after him (complaining the whole time) and just generally being there in such a way that he couldn’t get away from her. He suspects this is intentional. Whatever offense she had taken prior to the party that caused her to avoid him had been erased by his strange behavior during the party and now she was back to being concerned and behaving like a helicopter parent. 

  
He almost welcomes going to the office every day just to get away from her but then he has Pepper checking in on him constantly, giving him the same pity filled face he got from Nat every damn day and it was really getting quite irritating at this point. 

  
There’s a part of him that’s almost tempted to tell them the truth because he knows it’ll likely make them hate him and leave him, but it could also backfire and make them more concerned about his mental state and he could find himself in some institution somewhere. Besides, telling them would also potentially bring problems down on Pete and he didn’t want to do that to him. 

  
Just over a week after the party, on Monday afternoon he arrives back to the living quarters to find Natasha in the kitchen as usual, greeting him with forced cheer as she tells him dinner is almost ready (he’d yet to have eaten any of the stuff she’d made him, he couldn’t figure out why she hadn’t just given up) and that his laundry was done and on his bed. A cold spike of fear runs down his spine at that, a sense of doom as he hurries towards his bedroom that is quickly realized when he sees it.

Peter’s t-shirt, washed and neatly folded on top of the pile. She had completely erased his smell, taken Peter away from it and Tony wants to collapse onto the floor and cry at the sight. He stands gripping his head for a long few minutes, breathing hard as he tries to get control of himself. Rationally he knew she meant well, had no idea what the t-shirt meant to him or who it actually belonged to and hadn’t intended to upset him but she had. 

  
He needed to get her out of there. Now. 

  
Going back to the kitchen slowly, still counting in his head to avoid blowing up because that wasn’t going to help his cause at not looking insane, he manages to get a tenuous grip on himself by the time he arrives.

  
“How long are you staying?” He asks a little tersely, standing on the threshold and trying to keep his crazy eyes to the minimum. 

  
She glances up at him, startled at the question and his tone and then more so at his stance as she pulls a casserole out of the oven. 

  
“I dunno, as long as I’m needed I guess,” she replies carefully, putting the dish down and taking the oven mitts off before leaning back on the counter and folding her arms across her chest to regard him fully. 

  
“Needed in what way exactly? By who?” He presses, losing control thread by thread. 

  
“You, clearly,” she counters, forced cheer gone.

  
“I don’t need you, ok, I really don’t need you here at all, cleaning up after me, trying to force me to eat and certainly not to do my laundry and frankly I think it would be best if you left,” he growls out, his mother’s voice yelling at him in the back of his head about being an ungrateful prick. 

  
“Uh yeah, you do need me, you need someone because you are a god damn disaster right now Tony and I don’t even really know why if I’m honest. I don’t know if this is a return of the PTSD from New York a few years ago or what, but you are seriously fucked up right now and frankly shouldn’t be left on your own,” she explains as though speaking to a small child except with more colorful language, chin tilting down for emphasis as her brows rise. 

  
“I don’t need your help, I need you to go, I’m tired of being under the microscope and if I’m honest, if I needed help, you aren’t on the top of my list of people to call,” he spits. 

  
She tilts her head quickly, brows flicking up at his words and he can tell he cut a little deep with that and feels guilty. 

  
“Charming, nice to know where I stand,” she says quietly, pushing away from the counter. “Fine, I’m going out, Pepper invited me out for drinks so maybe I will take her up on it since I’m not wanted here.” 

  
She pushes past him, heading for the door and he feels even worse. None of this was her fault, she was trying to be a friend, something he frankly needed more of and he shouldn’t be treating her this way. 

  
“Nat, I’m sorry,” he says quickly, contritely, hurrying to follow her. Yes he wanted her to leave still, but he didn’t want it on bad terms. “I’m sorry ok, I’m just going through a lot, and I’m sorry I’m taking it out on you.”

  
She stops in front of the door and turns back to him.

  
“Why the hell won’t you talk to me about it then? Maybe I can help,” she supplies, stepping towards him, face full of concern. “I get that you don’t like my cooking or cleaning apparently,” she says in a bewildered tone, hand waving towards the spotless sitting room that he distinctly remembers leaving trashed after drinking too much and throwing shit around in anger at everything going wrong. “But at least I can listen and try to help you that way.”

“I can’t,” he whispers.

“Why the hell not Tony? What exactly is so bad that you can’t even talk to me of all people about? I mean, I know you, who you are as a person so I’m not really sure what you could possibly have going on that you have to keep from me,” she says, exasperated. 

  
“You would judge me, hate me because you wouldn’t understand this, I know you wouldn’t,” he says quietly, looking down at his shoes rather than her. It was such a dichotomy for him because frankly, he had no qualms with his relationship with Peter, felt no guilt aside from what he felt for the stupid shit he had done to Peter like the camera. But he knew their relationship was solid, real and based on their mutual admiration, respect and love for each other. But he was also so very keenly aware of the outside perspective, had become very familiar with it through Nick’s reaction and that was Nick, a guy he wasn’t even close to. What would someone who was his friend, who did know him, think about it? 

  
“Try me,” she replies, arms folding across her chest again. 

  
His mouth moves as he tries to come up with words, a war with himself going on because now, at this moment, he wanted to tell her the truth so badly, to tell her how much he loved Peter and how he made him a better person and was so bloody perfect and he itched to feel the relief from unloading on another person. But telling her was risking so much, too much and if she knew the truth, her surveillance of him would take on a completely different form and he’d never get to talk to Peter, let alone see him again, at least not for a very long time.

  
“I can’t Nat,” he finally says and she sighs loudly, angrily and turns on her heel again. 

  
“I’m going for that drink with Pepper. Eat something,” she says before going through the door and slamming it behind her. 

  
Tony stands there for only a minute, waiting just in case she came back before he starts moving towards the lab. He locks the door behind himself and the door to the party room before he logs in and opens the feed to the suit. It’s black again, Peter isn’t wearing it and a stab of disappointment goes through him. He quickly checks the log to see if he’s had it on at all that day and nothing is listed, nor for the day before. He quickly checks the time, it was almost 6, Peter would likely be out for dinner with his aunt at this point, the chances of him putting it on tonight were very slim. After everything with Nat and finally getting a chance to try again, it wasn’t going to work out and despondency washes over him. 

  
As a consolation prize, knowing that he probably had a few hours of alone time at least, he starts watching the other logs, relishing in hearing Peter’s voice even though they are all much like the first one he watched, short and without much said. It felt almost as though Peter was forcing himself to go on patrols because he thought he should, not because he wanted to. He’d lost his enthusiasm for being Spiderman, for helping people and it makes Tony painfully sad. 

  
Peter says nothing about his life at home as he moves about, keeping things professional and perfunctory with Karen and this is a change considering how much he used to chat to the AI about his personal life before. Tony wonders if it’s because Peter thinks someone like Nick is listening in and is being careful not to give anything away. He may also still be doing the patrols for the same reason, to keep doing what he was expected to do so that Nick won’t punish Tony. 

  
The only time he shows any cracks is two weeks ago, when he spends most of the first half hour in the suit just idly swinging from building to building without any real destination picked out and without sparing much of a glance to what might be going on below him. He finally lands on the roof of a nondescript apartment complex and just sits down, knees pulled up to his chest, seemingly staring off into the distance but a quiet sniffle can be heard in the background. The wind whipping across the rooftop drowns out a lot of the sound but it can just be discerned and it breaks Tony’s heart. Peter sits there for a long time, not saying anything or moving, just sniffling now and again before he finally just gets up and heads home. He went four days without putting it on after that. 

  
Sadness pressing on his chest Tony ends the footage and stares at the blackness that the suit was currently aware of, no sound or light or anything because it was turned off and it seems so appropriate somehow. His desire to talk to Peter is overwhelming him now but he can’t and it’s the most frustrating thing he's ever experienced. He has no way of telling Peter to put the suit on and it was almost 11 now, the chances were gone. 

  
Body aching from sadness, he quietly shuts everything down and logs out and goes back to his bedroom, passing the now cold casserole on the kitchen counter and he grabs Peter’s shirt and changes into it. It’s the first time he’s worn it, having not wanted to sully it with his own scent beforehand but now that Peter was gone from it, he didn’t see any reason he couldn’t wear it. Putting it on isn’t nearly as gratifying as he thought it would be but he still likes it, feels closer to Peter in it and he crawls under the covers with it on. 

  
He doesn’t sleep for a long time, mind still playing over Peter sitting on that roof but when sleep does come it feels like no time passes and his alarm is going off.   
Mechanically, he showers and dresses and goes to the kitchen to make his smoothie. The casserole is gone when he comes in, a sign that Natasha had come home at some point but he tries not to dwell on it. He just throws what he wants into the blender and pours the resulting green drink into a glass and heads out the door to work. 

  
Pepper is already waiting for him when he gets there, face a mixture of concern and annoyance and he knows she and Natasha must have had one hell of a conversation last night. 

  
“Why aren’t you letting anyone help you?” She starts the minute he’s through the door. She’s perched on one of the seats in front of his desk, wearing a crisp black pencil skirt and white blouse, hair a neat ponytail. 

  
He doesn’t respond, just turns Lykke on, smirking at the reactions of his office mates and sits down at his desk to start working on the pile of files and requests and the odd broken piece of tech sitting in front of him. 

  
“Tony, don’t ignore me, it’s rude, Natasha is trying to help you, so am I, I don’t understand why you are behaving this way, what is going on with you?” She presses, leaning forward in her chair. 

  
“Nothing I can talk about, like I told Natasha and maybe it’s time both of you just minded your own business and left me the hell alone,” he replies, picking up the burner phone one agent had left for him with a note stating that it had ‘crapped out’. He can tell within a few seconds that it had stopped working because it had been immersed in water, probably been dropped in the toilet and he quickly puts it down, reaching for hand sanitizer with a frown on his face. 

  
“Tony, you’re clearly not doing well, anyone can see it, you aren’t even eating,” she says in that slightly shrill voice that she got when she strongly felt like she was right about something and everyone else was wrong. 

  
In response to her accusation he holds up his smoothie and takes a drink.

  
“That’s not food Tony,” she retorts hotly.

  
“I think you’ll find it is, just in drink format, like soup,” he replies sarcastically, turning his attention to a roughly drawn design for what he thinks might be a glorified stun gun, created by one of the newer agents who clearly thought they were clever. It was meant to be nano tech, materializing out of a ring worn by the agent. 

  
“Tony,” Pepper says in that annoying mothering tone she always used with him and he can’t help but be so glad their relationship was over and that he had found someone much better for him. That tone haunted him frankly, and he was about done hearing it. 

  
“Pepper, stop, alright, please just stop and leave me alone. We aren’t together anymore which means you don’t get to meddle or hover over me telling me everything I’m doing wrong or reminding me every five minutes that I need to stop being whatever I am,” he cuts her off, leveling a stern look at her. “We’re done, I don’t need your help, please just leave me alone alright?”

  
She visibly leans back in shock, surprised at his tone and his dismissal. 

  
“Tony,” she says again, her tone now more irate and patronizing.

  
“No, Pepper, stop, stop using that tone with me, stop trying to control me, just stop. Go,” he says with finality, returning his eyes to the stun gun, feeling a little more than tempted to actually try making the damn thing, just for curiosity’s sake, even though it would never be considered ethical to use it because it would probably instantly kill whoever it was used on. Peter would have probably thought it was hilarious but would urge Tony not to make it just so no one got hurt, intentionally or accidentally. 

  
Finally deciding she’d had enough of being dismissed rudely, Pepper shoots up out of her chair and huffs loudly, clearly trying to come up with a rebuttal and finding nothing so instead she stomps out of his office. 

  
Relieved at being alone again, Tony returns to work, setting the gun design aside for future consideration and finishing working on the other files on his desk and the few repairs. He disinfects the phone but wears gloves anyway to fix it and is able to return it to its owner before the end of the day with a stern reminder to be careful around toilets, making the agent turn red with embarrassment. 

  
When 5 rolls around he starts to feel anticipation about going back to the living area, wondering if Natasha would still be there or not. He really, really hopes not, that she finally has decided to just go and leave him in peace but no such luck when he gets there. She’s just inside the door when he comes in, zipping up her jacket and putting her bag on her shoulder. 

  
“I’m going out for dinner with Clint, he’s in town for a few days and we thought we should catch up, do you want to come?” She asks, and he tries to decipher whether or not she actually wants him to come, even though he already knows he’s not going.

  
“No, I’m good, have fun,” he answers easily, trying to keep things pleasant, a tiny spark of hope in his chest at getting another chance to try to talk to Peter even though he already worries that he’s missed it. 

  
“Ok, fine, suit yourself,” she sighs, adjusting her purse on her shoulder. “Last night’s casserole is in the fridge if you want any for dinner,” she adds, heading towards the door. Her tone makes it clear she knows he won’t be eating any but that she felt she should offer it anyway, to be polite. 

  
After she’s out the door he listens as her boots clack away on the floor until he can’t hear them anymore and then heads to the lab and party room. He logs in and gets the feed up as quickly as possible, hoping beyond hope that maybe he can catch Peter before he takes the suit off to go for dinner. The screen is black and disappointment washes over him once again. But then he notes the log times and realizes that there is still an active session, or at least there was less than two minutes ago. Had he missed Peter by that little? That would be a pretty heinous kick in the face. Or was Peter just taking a break? He did that sometimes, landed on a roof and sat where he was hidden from prying eyes and took the mask off get some fresh air for a few minutes. If that was the case, he might still be able to pick up some audio even if the visual feed was cut off. 

  
He quickly toggles the dials with his fingers on the screen, trying to pick up any noise or indication of something happening and there is a faint whooshing sound, but that could just be interference. But it could be wind, there is just the tiniest possibility that Tony clings onto. 

  
He sits back down again and tries to do the update to the suit over the server that would allow him to talk to Peter and it fails the first time, stating no power in the suit. Heart thumping now with disappointment, he tries again and the little wheel trying to connect spins in front of his eyes, and he stares at it so much that they start to blur slightly. 

  
It startles him completely when suddenly there is a loud rustling sound in the room and all at once the screen lights up and Tony can see an empty roof, a water tower off in one corner and Peter’s red covered toes just ahead as he lounges on the roof. 

  
There is a ding a few seconds later, indicating that the update was complete and Peter hears it as well, jumping slightly and looking around wildly before he seems to focus more on listening. 

  
Heart pounding harder now from happiness, Tony takes a deep breath and tries to think of something to say and then he laughs to himself quietly, grin on his face still there when he finally speaks. 

  
“Hey Pete, what are you wearing?”

  
The reaction is pretty much as expected. Peter leaps to his feet and starts looking wildly around again, as though expecting to find Tony standing behind him but then his brain catches up with his ears and he seems to figure on that he’s hearing it through the suit.

  
“Tony?” He asks incredulously, voice happy, confused and shocked all at once. 

  
“Yeah, it’s me, I hacked into your suit using the baby monitor protocol,” Tony explains and Peter stops moving, processing this information. 

  
“But, isn’t my suit being monitored by Mr. Fury?” Peter asks trepidatiously. 

  
“Nope, never has been. You never officially became an Avenger so your suit stayed on my private server this entire time. I just thought of it a week ago and had to wait until you were wearing it before I could tell you,” Tony laughs, feeling almost giddy with excitement. He was talking to Peter, finally. 

  
“Seriously?” Peter squeaks out. “I thought this whole time he was watching and listening to me.”

  
“I checked, no one else has access to your suit, just me. I don’t know if he’s watching you if I’m honest, but I doubt it, he’s more interested in keeping tabs on me but he’s using other people to do that,” Tony explains. 

  
Peter processes this, plopping back down on his butt on the roof, vision still pointing off to the distance. 

  
“I miss you so much,” he finally says with a broken voice and tears well in Tony’s eyes. 

  
“God I miss you too,” Tony replies, his own voice a little shaky now. “So much, it’s been killing me not knowing if you are ok or what was happening to you. I’ve missed your voice, been dying to talk to you at least.”

  
Peter sniffles and Tony wipes away the tear trickling down his cheek. 

  
“I saw you, at that party a week ago,” Peter says quietly and Tony feels guilty, at how that must have looked to Peter, him out partying in a tux. 

  
“I had no choice but to go, it was made clear that it was part of my new duties, I didn’t want to go,” he explains quickly and Peter cuts him off.

  
“I know Tony, I could tell, you looked so unhappy, you don’t look well, I’m worried about you.”

  
“Well I was miserable to be there for sure, it’s just been really hard that’s all,” he admits. “I can deal with the office work shit and so much of the crap but being kept from you, from not even being able to talk to you, has been hell.”

  
“I know,” Peter agrees. 

  
“How are you? Physically, have you been taking care of yourself?” He asks, worried about Peter more than himself. 

  
“I’m ok,” Peter says carefully, as though he’s not being entirely truthful. “I mean, I’ve lost some weight but so have you.” He adds after hurriedly. 

  
“I think both of us are going to have to make more of an effort to take care of ourselves because I don’t know about you but I’ve been dealing with Natasha and Pepper hovering over me and trying to take care of me and it’s been super fucking annoying,” Tony growls out. 

  
“Oh, well it’s because they care though,” Peter says quickly, defending them in his typical kindhearted way. 

  
“I know Pete, I know, but they aren’t what I need frankly, to help me, I need you,” Tony admits. “How are things at home for you? How is May?”

  
Peter is quiet for a few moments, and Tony hears him take a shaky deep breath. 

  
“I mean, ok I guess. She won’t listen to me about us, she hates you and she thinks you’ve corrupted me or something, it’s made things really tense actually, I don’t really talk to her, or see her much,” Peter says quietly and Tony feels massive guilt pile into his chest. 

  
“Oh Pete I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

“No, it’s not your fault, I mean, I shouldn’t have left my phone in my room, I was so stupid,” Peter sniffles again, voice shaking. 

  
“No, Peter, it was not your fault at all, I fucked up, I fucked everything up, it’s my fault,” Tony insists. “Please, please talk to her, I hate that your relationship with her is messed up because of me, I need you to try to make things better with her. She loves you very much and I know you love her and it can’t be like this between you.”

  
Peter sighs again, head moving slightly as he seems to look at a flag flying on the roof of the neighboring building. 

  
“I’ll try, but I don’t want to lie to her, tell her that it was a mistake or not real. She’s still angry that the police won’t investigate and she seems to think you paid them off or something.”

  
“Did the cops give her any sort of reason why they won’t investigate?” Tony asks curiously, wondering how Fury pulled it off.

  
“Something about how the pictures on my phone don’t prove we were actually having sex, just sexting and they basically told her it’s a technicality. She threatened to get a lawyer herself and come after you but I convinced her not to because of what it would do to me if my friends and teachers found out and I think she also realized she didn’t want to have people know because it makes her look like a bad guardian or something.”

  
Tony nods to himself, it made sense. 

  
“Still though, please try and patch things up with her,” he presses again, feeling more and more guilty and thinking that if at least Peter and May made up, that would be one less terrible thing on his conscious. 

  
“Ok,” Peter agrees, though with little enthusiasm. “Is this something we can do all the time now? Talking?” He asks a moment later, sounding more energetic. 

  
“Uh yeah, as often as we can. It’s not gonna be easy, Natasha is living at the compound right now so I can only come in here when she’s out and I work till 5 every day but I am going to try to get in here as often as I can,” Tony promises. “I have you back a little at least, I’m not about to lose that.”

  
“Ok,” Peter agrees happily and Tony can hear the smile in his voice, making him grin himself. “I’m happy to just have something, it’s way better than nothing.” He adds. 

  
“No shit, I was gonna lose it if I didn’t get to at least talk to you soon and your voice sounds so good right now,” Tony breathes out, relief coursing through him now as he flops back in his chair. 

  
“Tony, what’s gonna happen when I turn 17?” Peter asks suddenly and Tony’s brows go up in surprise. 

  
“I don’t know Pete,” he answers honestly. “I suspect my leash is going to get significantly shorter courtesy of Nick though,” he adds angrily. 

  
“But I’ll be legal, it’ll be fine then,” Peter declares hotly. 

  
“I know Pete, but that doesn’t mean he’s gonna agree with it,” Tony points out.

  
“Well fuck him, when I’m legal he can’t do anything, he can’t keep you captive, I’ll make sure of that myself frankly,” Peter declares and Tony smiles again. 

  
“I appreciate that, but I’m not sure what’s gonna happen, but I’m not about to let him keep us apart if I can help it,” Tony agrees, feeling emboldened and forgetting the possible ramifications if he goes against Nick Fury. 

  
Peter goes to say something more but Karen cuts in suddenly, announcing that he has a call coming in from May Parker. 

  
“Answer that,” Tony tells him, going silent so she won’t hear him and Peter does as he’s told. 

  
“Hey May,” he answers the call somewhat unenthusiastically. 

  
“Where are you Peter? I’m gonna get bars installed on that window if you don’t stop sneaking out,” she demands, sounding angry and scared. 

  
“I’m just out for a walk, relax,” Peter replies, sighing quietly in frustration. 

  
“Alone?” She asks angrily. 

“Yes, May, I’m alone, who do you think I would be with?” Peter replies sarcastically, knowing full well who she thought he might meet up with.

  
“You need to come home, eat something,” she insists, voice leaving little room for argument. 

  
“I’ll be home in a little while,” he replies, sounding a little upset that his time with Tony might be coming to an end far too soon. 

  
“NO, now, Peter, or I will call the cops and have them bring you back,” she yells at him and Tony flinches himself. 

  
“Fine,” Peter agrees despondently, head going back to bounce against the wall he was leaning against, before ending the call, effectively hanging up on her. 

  
Tony sits torn. He desperately wants to keep talking to Peter, because he felt like an addict finally getting a score and he needed so much more, but at the same time, he had caused enough problems with Peter and May’s relationship, he didn’t want to make it worse.

  
“Peter, you should go back, I promise we will do this again, there’s absolutely no way I’m losing this, but we have to be careful, we can’t get caught and having your aunt flying off the handle isn’t gonna help with that,” Tony points out. 

  
“Yeah I know,” Peter agrees. “I’m just finding it tough to deal with her lately, the way she looks at me. But I promised you I would try to work it out so I will.” 

  
“Ok, thank you honey, that means a lot.”

  
“Can you do something for me then?” Peter asks.

  
“Of course, anything,” Tony agrees, feeling easier though he still didn’t want to say goodbye and hated that he didn’t know when they would speak again. 

  
“Please take better care of yourself, ok? Go eat something, get some sleep and get healthier because it scares me how terrible you looked at that party thing,” Peter insists carefully, clearly trying not to be offensive or upset Tony but also very worried. 

  
“Yeah, I know I need to do better and I’ll try. This is gonna help, you are the best medicine for me right now,” Tony says with a smile and he hears Peter’s breathy laugh.

“Ok, you should get a move on, do you have clothes to put on because I don’t think you’re gonna be able to sneak in that window.”

  
“Yeah, yeah, I’m good, I prepared for that, I’m used to it now,” Peter says with a groan as he stands up, slowly walking towards the edge of the roof to get ready to jump off it. “When, uh, when do you think we can talk again?” He asks carefully, sounding hopeful and apprehensive. 

  
“Hopefully tomorrow, if I can convince Nat to go out. Clint’s in town, so she might be hanging out with him again, they’re old friends and don’t see each other much so I’m praying she goes out. If that’s the case, I’ll be here after 5, but if I’m not in your ear by 6, don’t wait too long and risk getting in shit with your aunt.” 

  
“Ok,” Peter agrees.

  
“Ok, well until tomorrow then,” Tony says softly. “I love you, Pete, I miss you and I love you.”

  
“I love you too Tony,” Peter replies, stopping at the edge of the roof and hesitating for a second before shooting a web and swinging down and Tony realizes that he was only like a block from his own building. In less than 30 seconds he’s in the alley one building over, heading towards a back corner where Tony assumes he’s stashed his clothes. 

  
“Ok baby, have a good night,” Tony finally says and Peter stops for a second.

  
“You too, go eat something,” Peter replies and Tony can hear the smile before Peter sighs one more time and finally pulls the mask off, ending the log and shutting the suit down and dropping the screen into blackness. Tony hates the abruptness of it. 

  
He sits for a long few minutes processing, feeling like he can breathe again for the first time in a long time. He really needs to find a way to get Natasha to leave so it’ll be easier to get time to do this. 

  
He figures that maybe if he appears to be doing better, getting healthier that she might stop worrying and think her job is done and she will leave on much better terms than they might have possibly separated on. Doing so would also keep his promise to Peter, so win-win. 

  
With that decided he shuts everything down and logs off and heads to the kitchen and pulls the casserole out of the fridge, heating some up for himself and carrying it to the living room to eat it in front of the TV. It’s not half bad and he feels a bit better after, though his stomach feels a little heavy after him not eating properly for so long. He cleans up the dishes and leaves the kitchen tidy before heading to his bedroom to get some sleep. He feels strangely more relaxed, at ease and it helps him fall asleep far faster than he had in a long time. 

  
It seems that Peter truly is the best medicine for him. 


	13. Chapter 13

When he goes into the kitchen the next morning, he can tell immediately that Natasha has clocked that he ate something and she looks surprised. She’s standing at the fridge, door open, looking down at the casserole and then back up to Tony. 

  
“I was hungry,” he states simply as he shrugs and heads to the fridge to get smoothie ingredients, nudging her out of the way. “How is Clint?” He asks conversationally and he starts putting kale and a banana into the blender. 

  
“He’s uh, he’s fine,” she answers slowly, watching him still, as though she’s concerned about him making any sudden movements as she backs away and leans against the counter, arms crossed over her chest. She’s wearing a black t-shirt and black jeans and Tony wonders when the last time she wore color was, it’s been a while that he can remember. 

  
“How long is he in town for again?” Tony asks conversationally, hoping and praying it’s for a few weeks, or months and maybe he’s invited Nat to go stay with him at his farm for the foreseeable. Anything that will get her out of the compound because he may have been desperate to get her out before so he could be sullen alone but he really was now because she was interrupting his ability to talk to Peter. 

  
“Couple days,” she replies, eyes narrowing slightly. 

  
“Oh, that’s not long,” Tony says with a touch of fake sympathy in his voice. 

  
“Yeah, why don’t you come out to dinner with us tonight, so you two can catch up,” she offers, head tilting to the side slightly as she gauges his reactions. 

  
“No, I think I’m good with leaving things with how they were the last time I saw him,” Tony replies tersely, pushing the button on the blender and filling the room with the sound of it whirring his smoothie together. 

  
“Tony, he was against the accords, not you and he knew nothing about Bucky and your parents, you can’t hold him responsible for that,” Nat presses, a touch of exasperation in her voice as she has to basically yell to be heard over the blender. 

  
The machine cuts off with a snap, the room sounding deafeningly silent when Tony stops it. 

  
“He made his choice, I’m glad he’s living with it, but it doesn’t mean I have to,” he answers blankly, pouring the mixture into a cup and putting the lid on and popping the straw in. “But by all means, you two are old friends, hang out while you’ve got the chance.”

  
With that he gives her a fake smile and heads out to the office, hoping she’s gone by the time he gets back. 

  
The same moron who dropped his phone in the toilet has broken his phone again, this time a little more extensively and Tony spends more time than he should on trying to fix it before giving up and just transferring the guys information and data over to a new phone. He eyes the nano tech stun gun drawing a few times throughout the course of the morning, something about the absurdity of the idea keeping his attention and he finally gives in just after lunch time and goes into the shared lab space to see what he can come up with. He has a basic concept already from what he developed with the suit, but the suit involved its own working brain basically, this didn’t, so creating a program that responded to the wearer and materialized the gun was more difficult. 

  
It keeps him busy through the afternoon, a welcome way to pass the time because as the end of the day drew closer, he got more and more antsy and agitated that he might be prevented from talking to Peter in some way. 

  
Walking back to the living quarters quickly, he has to control himself not to break into a run and he slips through the door quietly and starts looking for Natasha immediately. She’s not in the kitchen or living room, so he checks her bedroom and the theatre, calling out her name a few times just to be sure and he gets no response. Feeling buoyed he does one more final sweep and finds a note on the kitchen counter that he had missed the first time since he had been looking for an actual person.

_Tony, gone out to dinner with Clint, maybe drinks after. Come join us, it would do you good and you need to get over yourself anyway._

She has scribbled the name of a restaurant on the bottom, as well as the name of a nearby hole in the wall bar and Tony just ignores both while he balls the note up and tosses it in the trash as he starts hurrying towards the party room. 

  
It’s almost 5:30 when he finally gets in his chair and tells Friday to open the connection and enters his password and he prays Peter hasn’t given up yet, even though Tony told him to give him until 6 at least. He breathes out in relief when he gets a nice visual of a rooftop on the screen, followed by Peter’s voice, quiet and curious.

  
“Tony?” He asks, sounding a little worried.

  
“Yeah, baby, it’s me, sorry I’m a little late,” Tony apologizes, happiness coursing through him. 

  
“It’s ok, I’m glad you could come talk to me,” Peter hurries out, sounding much happier, and he stretches out his legs and gets comfortable. Tony notes that he’s still wearing jeans and running shoes, so evidently just has the mask on. 

  
“Where are you right now? Does May know you’ve left?” Tony asks, worried about another interruption.

  
“On the roof of my building,” Peter explains, turning his head and recognition hits Tony. Peter wasn’t far from where they had last been alone together in the rain that fateful night. “She knows I’m up here, I pointed out that we don’t have a backyard and this was my way of getting fresh air and sunshine. I figured if she knew where I was, she would chill out a bit. I’ve been doing my homework while I waited for you so I can at least say I did that.”

  
“Smart,” Tony compliments him proudly. “Are things any better between you and her? Did you two talk?”

  
“Not really no, she wants me to see a counsellor apparently, because evidently seeing my uncle get murdered in front of me wasn’t something I needed therapy for but falling in love is, so that’s her thought process right now,” Peter says sarcastically. 

  
“You know why she has an issue with you and I, Pete, she’s just worried,” Tony says gently. 

  
“She doesn’t need to be, that’s the point, but I know what you mean, I just wish she would listen to me, try to understand rather than being so single minded about it,” Peter sighs. “I’ve tried to explain but I mean, yeah, I do see it from her perspective for sure, so I don’t really know what to do at this point.”

  
“I’m afraid I don’t really have any answers either honestly,” Tony admits. Because he really didn’t know what to tell Peter to say to May. She was just trying to protect her nephew, and even if Tony and Peter knew that there was nothing to worry about, she saw it from a completely different angle. Tony wasn’t sure she ever would accept their relationship. 

“How are you? Did you eat something like I asked?” Peter changes the subject deftly, sounding a little like a pushy parent himself. 

  
“Yes Mr. Parker, I did, I’m making an effort as I promised, though I think it’s freaking Natasha out more now,” he laughs and he hears Peter giggle too. 

  
“Has she moved out? Keep eating and being normal and maybe she will just to get away from you.”

  
“Sadly no, she’s still living here, but Clint’s still in town so they are hanging out, wanted me to go with them, but I said no, it’s not something I’m interested in frankly,” Tony says with a sigh and a soft laugh. 

  
“I seem to remember being pressured into doing something I wasn’t interested in either, that party you forced me to go to,” Peter points out bluntly and Tony laughs harder before pretending to be serious.

  
“Well, I mean, I can go, but that means I need to stop talking to you right now,” he says grimly and Peter makes a shocked noise.

  
“NO, no, I mean, if you really don’t want to go, you shouldn’t, cuz Clint was on the wrong side right? And I mean, it’s not like you are really friends with him anyway, and you have work tomorrow and stuff,” he hurries out and Tony laughs loudly.

  
“Pete, as if I would give up the chance to talk to you for anything in the world right now,” Tony says reassuringly and Peter breathes out loudly. 

  
“Good to hear,” he replies allayed and Tony laughs again. He’s so glad to finally laugh again honestly. 

  
“How was your day? Tell me about it,” Tony asks, genuinely interested. He missed their chats in the lab when they were working, Peter’s view on the world could be so insightful and interesting and downright hilarious at times. 

  
“It was a day at high school Tony, how do you think it was?” Peter deadpans. 

  
“I know Peter, but it matters to me, to know how you are doing, I haven’t spoken to you in so many weeks, I feel like I’ve missed so much,” Tony says quietly. “How did your physics project turn out? I’m sorry we didn’t get to properly finish doing testing, did your teacher still take your report on it?”

  
“Uh, yeah, good actually,” Peter brightens a bit about this subject. “You and I got enough done, don’t worry and he was pretty impressed and I think my mark will be good. Won’t know till the end of the semester though and I still have my final exam to write.” 

  
“Good, I’m glad that didn’t get fucked up,” Tony says with relief. That project was worth so much, with all of the shit that had happened, he would hate for Peter to get a bad grade as well, what with him working so hard to get to MIT and everything. “How’s Ned?”

“Pissed at me for ditching him at that party, he won’t talk to me, but whatever, he knew I didn’t want to go and he basically ditched me there to go hang out with Betty,” he replies dully. 

  
“You never told me that,” Tony points out.

  
“Yeah, well, enough shit went on at that party that you do know about, didn’t feel necessary to add to it,” Peter replies frankly. “Besides, it doesn’t matter now anyway, none of it does. I’m just focusing on studying and my grades and the rest of high school and all it entails can go to hell.”

  
“Is that Flash kid still an asshole?” 

  
“Yup, hundred percent but he’s easy to ignore.”

  
“I’m sorry Pete, that you have to put up with so much shit,” Tony sighs out, sad that he couldn’t do more to make Peter’s life in high school and in general easier. 

  
“Why? It’s not your fault and you were the one who gave me hope and a reason to believe that there is so much better in life, that I can be happy and find someone who does understand me. Knowing that makes going there every day that much easier, especially now that I can talk to you again, because it’s you that matters to me, not them and they don’t affect me,” Peter replies and Tony smiles softly. He felt similar, Peter felt like a completion to him, a second half he was missing, someone who made him a better person, worthy of how Peter looked at him. He’d been on his own for so long, making terrible decisions, being a terrible person at times that he had started to feel almost out of control. He was a billionaire, he could have whatever he wanted, fame, material things, power even, and he sought all of it but never felt fully in control of it, or that he deserved it somehow. Iron Man was close, it gave him purpose, a sense of doing something positive for the world, and the Avengers by extension until that more or less went to pot. But Peter made him feel like a complete person, grounded, less chaotic. 

  
“Tony?” Peter says quietly, sounding worried. “Is Natasha home? Can you not talk anymore?”

  
Tony realizes he’s been quiet for a long moment, absorbing Peter’s words.

  
“Um, no, she’s not home, I was just going over some stuff in my head, sorry,” Tony quickly explains. “It’s just, I know you feel like… I mean, you just don’t realize how much you’ve done for me too Peter, how much you’ve made me into a better person, into someone who wants to be a better person, you’ve given me something that I’ve been missing my entire life and maybe we are exactly what we each needed.”

  
Peter goes quiet this time for a moment, mulling this over. 

  
“Yeah, I think so,” he agrees softly, thoughtfully. “Maybe that’s why it just fell together so easily.”

  
“Yeah, I think so too, and I am sorry for the shit I did, but in a weird way, I’m grateful for that stupid camera because it did show me that you were who I was looking for all this time,” Tony says carefully, wary that Peter was still pissed. 

  
“I don’t know that I’m going to agree about the camera being a good thing,” he says bluntly and Tony grits his teeth slightly, guilt welling in his chest. “But I also think we may not have got to this point without it I guess,” he finally agrees begrudgingly. “God I just hate to think about all the stuff you saw though, ugh.”

  
“I don’t know what you think was so bad,” Tony says quickly and then quickly alters his thought. “Ok yes, I can think of some things, though to be honest, that was just so fucking hot from my perspective, but honestly otherwise, it wasn’t anything for you to be ashamed of.” 

  
“Jesus Tony, you watched me, you know…” Peter’s hand waves in the air as he tries to put it into words and Tony can hear the blush. “Jerking off and stuff, and even if you found it hot, I’m still embarrassed.”

  
“I know baby, I know and again, I’m really really sorry, that was a pretty gross invasion of your privacy on my part and I shouldn’t have done it, no excuses,” Tony says firmly, knowing that he can’t excuse his way out of that by saying it was hot or it turned him on, because that just invalidated Peter’s feelings about it and that wasn’t fair. “In full honesty right now, and I should have told you yesterday, I can see what you see right now, like I can see through your eyes because of the mask, just so you are aware. It’s the only way I can connect though, is through the mask.”

  
“Oh, ok,” Peter says quickly, sounding surprised, head moving as though he’s trying to picture that from Tony’s perspective. 

  
“Is that a problem? I can see if I can find a way to cut the visual feed for myself,” Tony offers, already trying to figure out the code to make that happen when Peter cuts him off.

  
“No, no, it’s fine, it actually makes sense and really, I knew, since that was part of the baby monitor protocol, but I’m glad you told me, so now I know,” Peter hurries out, sounding more settled with it. “I just kinda wish I could see you,” he adds after, softly. 

  
“Yeah, I wish I could see you myself, see your face too, but I don’t think there’s a way to do that, not without me doing some work on the suit and I’d need it here,” Tony grumbles out, unhappy that they couldn’t have more than this. 

  
“Well this is definitely better than nothing though,” Peter points out. “We had nothing, and that was horrible, I don’t want that again, so I am glad for this, happy you figured this out.”

  
“Yeah true,” Tony agrees, remembering how awful those weeks had been, as though it hadn’t only just ended yesterday. 

  
Peter starts to say something else but then goes quiet, head turning fast towards the side of the roof the fire escape was on. 

  
“Shit, May’s coming, I have to take the mask off, will that turn this off?” He asks quickly, breathing audibly picking up speed. 

  
“Yeah, it will, but don’t worry, it’ll come back on as soon as you put it back on.”

  
“Ok, be right back,” Peter hurries out, loud rustling and blurry visuals following until it all goes black. 

  
Tony waits on pins and needles, terrified they would get caught. He can’t hear Peter’s conversation with May and that about drives him insane. A few minutes pass and it feels like a lifetime before the screen comes back to life, Peter’s panicked voice filling the room.

  
“Tony, are you still there? Did it come back on?” 

  
“Yeah, yeah, baby, I’m here, is everything alright?” 

  
“Oh thank God,” Peter breathes out in relief. “Yeah, everything’s fine, she saw nothing, just thinks I’m working on my algebra up here but she wants me to come down for dinner. But I can sneak back up here later, after she’s gone to bed, can you be back around again?” He asks hopefully and Tony mentally tries to calculate his chances. May usually went to bed at around 10 unless Peter was out and then she waited up for him. Natasha was going to the bar with Clint after dinner, he probably safely had until at least 1 in the morning before she might come home. That gave them around three hours, that was decent. 

  
“Yeah, I think so, I’ll be back just after 10, does that work?”

  
“Yup, I can get up here around then, she’s already complaining about being tired, it shouldn’t be a problem,” Peter says happily and Tony relaxes. “Ok, I’m gonna go down so she doesn’t get mad or suspicious or anything, you should go get some dinner too.”

  
“I will Pete, don’t worry,” Tony laughs. “I’ll talk to you later, it’s a date.”

  
“Yup it is,” Peter agrees. “Ok, I love you, talk to you soon.”

  
“Love you too baby,” Tony says with a smile and a few moments later Peter takes the mask off and the screen goes black again. 

  
There was nothing quite like the feeling of being able to talk to Peter again, it was such a relief it was like the best medicine out there. He hopes and prays they can keep it up until they can see each other again, whenever that might end up being. 

  
He carefully logs out and turns everything off, not wanting to take any chances and then heads to the kitchen to get dinner. A quick scan of the fridge reveals the leftover casserole and he decides it was better than waiting for takeout or cooking for himself so he heats up another portion and eats it in front of the TV. 

  
Afterwards he cleans up the dishes and kitchen, putting everything away before heading to his bedroom to shower and throw pajama pants and Peter’s t-shirt on. That done, he comes back out to the TV. It’s just after 8 and he can already feel impatience creeping in. Flipping through the stations gives him nothing interesting as a distraction and he can’t help but keep checking the clock every few seconds. What’s worse is his constant fear that Natasha will come home early. He and Peter hadn’t made any kind of plan for if one of them found themselves unable to show up and he was really worried something might happen and he wouldn’t be able to tell Peter. 

  
When 10 finally does roll around, Tony all but sprints for the lab and the party room, getting everything set up at record speed. He’s ahead of Peter, the screen still black, but he feels a little better knowing that he had made it. This leads to him staring at the clock again, trying to calculate when Peter might arrive. He would have to wait until he was at least reasonably sure his aunt was asleep before leaving, so at least 15 minutes after she went to bed. Then he would have to climb up to the roof, not a difficult feat for Peter but still a few minutes. Then he’d have to get the mask on. It could be 10:30 before he arrived if he faced any challenges, Tony would have to just be patient, not something he was any good at. 

  
When the screen finally does come to life, Tony almost cheers. 

  
“Tony?” Peter asks quickly, sounding out of breath and worried. 

  
“Hey, yeah, I’m here, you got away ok then?” Tony replies quickly and he hears Peter breathe out in relief.

  
“Yeah, she was a little slow in going to bed, I was worried you wouldn’t be able to wait for me.”

  
“I would have waited as long as I could babe, no worries,” Tony assures him. “Where did you two go for dinner? Have you told her you can cook yet?”

  
Peter laughs and starts telling him about the restaurant and the waiter who evidently had a crush on May. Tony understood it, she was a beautiful woman, the family had great genes.

  
“Things were ok between us too, which was nice, good to not have so much tension, though she’s bugging me about going to the prom,” Peter says grumpily. 

  
“She wants you to experience all the joys of high school I guess,” Tony supplies, remembering how she also really wanted him to go to that party.

  
“That and she thinks it’ll make me forget about you,” Peter replies hotly. “Not gonna happen.”

  
“Good to hear,” Tony breathes out. “Does she know that though?”

  
“I’ve told her, several times a few weeks ago, when everything went down and I was trying to get her to understand how much I love you and that this wasn’t just sex or whatever, but she basically told me that I’m too young to understand love and shut me down, so I haven’t bothered trying again,” Peter grumbles. “I didn’t really tell her too much about us though, I don’t want to give her any ammunition to go back to the cops so she thinks it was just phone stuff we were doing.”

  
“Pete, she’s aware of you coming here every weekend for weeks, I’m sure she’s put two and two together,” Tony points out. 

  
“Oh I know, she’s hinted at that and tried to get me to admit to more, but like I said, I’m not saying any more to protect you.”

  
“I appreciate that for sure,” Tony admits. He’s not sure how many times Nick would step in before he just let Tony fall from grace, Avengers and Iron Man be damned.

  
“But whatever, I’m not going to prom, I wouldn’t want to even before I met you frankly, nothing has changed there,” Peter sighs loudly, frustrated. “Maybe I’ll just pretend to go, but do something else.”

  
“That’s an option, though I don't really recommend lying to your aunt again,” Tony says with a laugh.

  
“Her knowing the truth is what the problem is right now, let’s be honest.”

“True,” Tony admits. “But other than the prom thing, I’m glad it was an alright evening. I don’t want to come between you two, I know how close you two were before me and I hate the thought of separating you.”

  
“I know you don’t and I love her, she is my only family left but I mean, we are only living together because of circumstances, let’s be honest. But I’m glad it was alright as well, I don’t like the tension for sure.”

  
“Pete, she took you in because she loves you and would do anything for you, family or not, always remember that,” Tony presses. 

  
“I know Tony, I know, and I’m gonna keep working on rebuilding our relationship but I do wish she wouldn’t belittle my relationship with you,” Peter retorts.

  
“Fair enough,” Tony agrees. 

  
“What did you do for dinner? Did Natasha cook again or leave you anything?” Peter asks by way of changing the subject. 

  
“I had more of the casserole she made the other night, I’m good,” Tony replies with a laugh. 

  
“Hey, I’m just making sure you are keeping your promise to me, since I’m working on keeping mine to you,” Peter replies hotly. 

  
“I know, you just sound like a worried grandma when you ask what I ate for dinner,” Tony laughs and a moment later Peter snorts and laughs himself. 

  
“And I plan to continue, so get used to it,” he retorts. “How was work?”

  
Peter laughs as Tony tells him about the guy who keeps breaking his phone. As predicted, he’s very interested in the nano stun gun and they end up talking about it and possible solutions to the issues Tony was facing for longer than intended but it felt so good to just talk about normal stuff again. At some point Peter gets up and starts aimlessly wandering around the roof while they are talking, gesticulating with his hands as he normally did and Tony smiles softly as he watches him. 

  
“Anyway, what are you wearing right now?” He asks for fun with a laugh when the tech conversation dies down and Peter laughs loudly in response. 

  
“Have a look for yourself,” he replies, moving to look down his own body so Tony could see too. He’s in a baggy t-shirt and plaid pajama pants, feet stuffed into his running shoes, the laces untied. 

  
“Hmmm,” Tony hums thoughtfully, body stirring in response. God he missed touching Peter, kissing him, fucking him. “Not bad, not as good as those tight black jeans though, I miss those.”

  
“Ah yes, but I’m not wearing anything under these pants,” Peter says with a smirk in his voice and Tony’s body is definitely coming to attention now. He debates the ramifications of them doing anything, and while his dick told him it was a spectacular idea, he feels the tiniest bit terrified of getting caught. 

  
“You can’t just tell me something like that and not prove it,” Tony says seriously, eyes glancing at the clock and seeing the 12:13 staring back at him. He was only guessing at the 1a.m. thing for Natasha coming home, there’s a chance she could be earlier than that. He debates texting her to ask, just something benign about whether or not he should leave the hall light on when Peter snorts a laugh in his ear and goes ahead and proves his commando status to Tony with a delicious visual.

Moving into a corner where the light from a nearby building was creating more shadows but gave enough to see by, he looks down as he pulls his waistband away from his body so Tony can see right down his pants to his half hard cock. 

  
Instantly Tony decides there has to be enough time because there is no way they aren’t doing this now, it’s been way too long since he’s been with Peter and though it is incredibly frustrating to have it like this, with them apart and not able to touch each other, it was better than nothing. 

  
“What are you wearing Mr. Stark? Be descriptive because remember, I can’t see you,” Peter says with a slightly husky voice. He keeps the visual downward, one hand still holding his pants open while the other slides down to wrap around himself, cock getting harder in his hand as he starts stroking himself. Evidently Tony wasn’t the only one massively pent up sexually.

  
“Those blue plaid pajama pants I usually wear, you know the ones that are super thin and soft, and your t-shirt you left here, the one with the joke about string theory on it,” Tony replies, hand sliding down his own pants to wrap around himself, squeezing slightly and making him hiss quietly, a sound that does not go unnoticed by Peter. “Nothing else.”

  
“Fuck,” Peter whispers, hand picking up speed, skin shiny with pre-cum. “Oh my God I miss fucking you, I miss you touching me, being inside me,” he breathes out, a sharp cry at the end as he squeezes again, hand twisting slightly and Tony knows he’s already close, but so is he. 

  
“I miss that ass of yours myself, how tight and hot you were around me, the sounds you’d make when I hit you inside just right,” Tony groans, his own hand picking up speed as the other pushes his pants down to the top of his thighs. “I miss how it feels to be inside you when you come.”

  
“Shit Tony, fuck fuck fuck,” Peter cries out, pulling his cock out of his pants before he comes on the rooftop, and it is enough to send Tony over the edge himself, crying out loudly, Peter’s name like a prayer on his lips for a few moments as his head drops back. 

  
They both bask in the post orgasm glow for a few moments before the melancholy seems to creep back in, the frustration that they couldn’t be together, that while what they just did was incredibly hot and amazing, it wasn’t enough, nowhere near. 

  
“I miss your lips, the way you’d smile when I kissed you sometimes. I miss your freckles and the way your skin seemed to glow in the sunshine in the morning when we’d wake up,” Tony says softly after he’s cleaned himself up quickly with a few napkins still left in the room and Peter tucks himself away before flopping back to lean against the wall. 

  
“I miss your lips too, and your eyes, the way you’d look at me when you thought I wouldn’t notice, how it made me feel like I was your entire world, made me feel so special. I miss the way your beard would tickle my chin or my neck, I miss the smell of your cologne.” 

  
“It’s Gendarme,” Tony supplies. “I miss how you smell too. It’s one of the reasons I was so happy I found this shirt after you forgot it here, but Natasha washed it,” he admits and he hears Peter breath in quickly. 

  
“I’m sorry, but you still have the shirt, though I did wonder where it went,” he says with a shaky laugh. 

  
“It’s safe, don’t worry,” Tony assures him with his own shaky laugh, pulling his pants back up. He glances at the clock again, 12:24 now, he fears time is really getting short on him now. “Natasha is probably gonna be home soon.”

  
“Do you think we will be able to talk again tomorrow?” Peter asks hopefully, voice still shaky but more of a panicked kind, as though he was terrified that at any time he’d lose Tony again. 

  
“I’m not sure baby, I’m half tempted to drug Natasha to make her sleep if I’m honest, and I’d do it if I thought I could, I’d do anything to get any time with you.”

  
“I feel like that’s a bad idea though, would probably just piss her off,” Peter laughs, sniffling quietly. “Maybe she will have plans with Clint again though?”

  
“Fuck I hope so, maybe she can just go live with Clint on his farm, that would be optimal,” Tony grumbles out. He had to find a way to get her to leave permanently. He just wasn’t sure how without directly asking her and he had suspicions that she was reporting to Fury about him and his state of mind and behavior. Him telling her to get the fuck out wasn’t going to get the desired response at all. “I’ll try and figure something out but let’s just do the same as today, try and meet up just after 5 but if either of us isn’t around by 6, we know that person can’t make it. Same for night, we try for 10 but if we aren’t here by like 11 or 11:30 we know it’s not possible, just so neither of us is waiting around forever, taking the risk.”

  
“Ok,” Peter agrees, not sounding overly thrilled about it but understanding that this was how it had to be. “Is that the same for every day and night then?”

  
“Yeah, I think so, I hate that it’s gotta be this way but again, this is still better than nothing for now, hopefully we can figure more out at some point,” Tony offers, though he isn’t sure how they could do that honestly. 

  
“Yeah, I know, you’re right,” Peter agrees. 

  
“Ok, well we should get to bed anyway,” Tony points out, laughing quietly when he hears Peter yawn. “You’ve got school, I’ve got a stun gun to finish making tomorrow, thank you for the ideas on that by the way.”

  
“Yeah no problem, let me know how it works out,” Peter laughs. “And don’t fix that idiot’s phone anymore.”

“I have to, it’s my job,” Tony points out and Peter snorts. “Ok baby, have a good night and a good day at school tomorrow, try and make the best of it.”

  
“Yeah, I’ll try, you too actually, since I know you aren’t any happier working than I am at school.”

  
“Nope, I’m not, that’s for sure,” Tony laughs. “I love you.”

  
“I love you too. So much,” Peter says with that shaky voice again and Tony’s throat tightens. He hates how every time they say goodbye now it feels like it could be permanent, it’s a terrifying sensation. 

  
“Sleep well honey, good night,” he manages to get out, trying not to sound too upset for fear it would just upset Peter more. 

  
“Night,” Peter says softly, sniffling again before he pulls the mask off and the room goes dark and then the tears drip down Tony’s face. He silently cries behind his hand for a moment before forcing himself to take a deep breath and pull it together. It was just so hard when he couldn’t see a light at the end of this tunnel. Even when Peter turned 17, he wasn’t sure there was any way they could be together, there was one hell of a powerful man who would work like hell to keep them apart. 

  
He logs off and then shuts everything down, swiping the wetness away from his face and cleaning up to make sure the room looked unused before he left. He hurries to his bedroom and closes the door behind himself, only moments later hearing Natasha clacking down the hall in her heels and he breathes out with a whoosh. It sends a thread of panic through him knowing how close they could have been to getting caught. 

  
After he brushes his teeth and washes his face, he settles under the covers alone and can’t help the thought that comes into his mind.

  
He should have taken Peter to the Maldives when he had the damn chance.


	14. Chapter 14

Much to his unmitigated dismay, Natasha not only chooses to stay home the next day, but she has the gall to invite Clint over for dinner, making it clear she expects Tony to be in attendance as well. 

  
He’s miserable all day at work, even though he does get the stun gun design complete and mostly functional thanks to Peter’s help, but all he can think is that he has no way of telling Peter it worked, at least not today. 

  
When he gets home, Natasha immediately herds him into the kitchen where Clint tries to make awkward small talk with him while Tony sits broken hearted as he watches the clock go past 6 knowing that Peter had probably been waiting for him and would now be going back home and likely very upset. 

  
After dinner, he gets herded again into the living room for drinks and he sits and holds his while saying nothing and not even listening to the other two people in the room talking. He keeps glancing at the clock, seeing 10 getting closer and closer and trying to come up with ways he can excuse himself and maybe pretend to go to bed but actually sneak into the party room, but the fear of getting caught prevents him from actually moving. 

  
At 9:30 Natasha suggests they hang out in the theatre and watch a movie, since Tony was clearly uninterested in hearing about Clint’s kids or listening to the two of them reminisce about the good old days of the two of them working together. 

  
Tony declines, declaring that he’s too tired and that he’s going to bed before standing up and just leaving the room. He heads to his bedroom and starts pacing, frustrated and sad and anxious all at once. 

  
At just after 10 he decides to go see what’s going on, maybe he’ll pretend to need a glass of water from the kitchen or something and then he can see if there is a chance he can sneak into the party room, even for just a few minutes so he at least can apologize and explain to Peter what happened. 

  
He creeps towards the theatre room, noting the closed door and stands near it listening. He can hear something playing, a movie presumably and he hears Natasha laugh once before Clint says something and he now knows they are both in there. He might, just might have a few minutes. 

  
As silently as possible, without turning on any lights he creeps to the lab and silently slips through the door before tip toeing over to the party room. He closes the door behind himself, locking it just in case and then turns everything on and logs in. 

  
Peter is waiting for him, quietly, eyes on his hands in his lap as he picks at his fingernails, though he’s jittery, anxious and Tony knows why. 

  
“Peter, I’m here, I’m so sorry about earlier, Natasha invited Clint here for dinner and I couldn’t sneak away, they are watching a movie right now so I don’t have much time I’m afraid but I needed to hear your voice,” Tony says in a hurry, keeping his voice low, though it was unlikely Nat or Clint would hear him from several rooms away with a movie playing. 

  
Peter jumps when he speaks, sitting up straight as his head snaps up.

“Tony! Oh my God I was so worried, I assumed something had happened but I was so scared it was bad, that Nick found out about us talking,” Peter says loudly before softening his own voice. “Oh God I’m so relieved, I’m glad you’re ok.”

  
“Yeah baby, I am, I’m fine, I’m so sorry about earlier.”

“It’s ok, don’t worry, that’s why we made the agreement about the length of time we’d wait, we both know this isn’t a perfect situation and sometimes stuff is gonna come up, don’t worry about it, I’m just glad you're here now,” Peter says quietly, smile in his voice. 

  
“Yeah I am too, even if it’s just for a few minutes.” Tony relaxes back a little. 

  
“Hey, did you get the stun gun made?” Peter asks quickly, eagerly and Tony laughs and tells him about it, and the few snags he was still hitting. He’s not surprised when Peter has suggestions and he takes note of them, promising to try them tomorrow and report back. 

  
A half hour passes way too quickly and Tony knows he needs to get back to his bedroom. 

  
“Pete, I’m sorry but I should go,” he says sadly and Peter sighs. 

  
“Yeah I know, and I don’t know if I can make it tomorrow, May is insisting on me going to get a new suit for the prom that I’m not going to, I still can’t talk her out of that even though I’ve told her I have no one to go with, not even Ned,” Peter growls out, frustrated. 

  
“What exactly does she expect you to do? Go alone and just hang out alone?”

  
“She seems to think I’ll make more friends or something but I mean, I’ve known these people for a long time, friendship isn’t gonna happen in one night, but I don’t know how to get out of her dragging me out shopping tomorrow night, I promised you I would try to improve our relationship and I want to, it feels a little like old times with this but I just wish she wouldn’t be so insistent that I go to prom.”

  
“Evidently she wants you to partake in underage drinking, that generally happens at those kinds of events,” Tony says with a laugh. “As does a lot of sex, is she aware of that?”

  
“Well my virginity ship has sailed already,” Peter laughs and Tony snorts. “So I mean, already another reason for me to not bother going. Best I not tell her that though.”

  
“No, no, keep that to yourself, like you have been doing,” Tony agrees. “But if you can’t make it tomorrow, that’s ok, we will have some days where we can’t talk and that’s gonna have to be ok for us. We don’t have a choice.”

  
“Yeah I know,” Peter says sullenly. 

  
“Night baby, I love you,” Tony says softly, feeling emotion welling up in him again, as it did every time they ended one of these conversations. 

  
“I love you too, good night, don’t get caught,” Peter urges. 

  
“I won’t, I promise.”

  
He hears Peter sigh once more before he takes the mask off and the room goes dark. He quickly logs off and shuts down the screen before tip toeing over to the door and listening against it for a few moments. When he hears nothing he cracks it open a half inch and tries to see if there is any movement in the lab. Seeing nothing but the red light on the exit sign he carefully creeps out and closes the door behind himself before slipping across the lab and out into the hall. As he passes the theatre, he hears Natasha and Clint talking but no other sounds and he assumes the movie is either over or they’ve just given up on it. Either way he hurries quickly to his bedroom before they come out and catch him in the hallway and ask questions. He’s not entirely sure why he’s so paranoid about that, probably because he assumes Natasha is reporting back to Fury on Tony’s behaviour, but also he’d frankly like to avoid another argument. 

  
The next morning he finds both Clint and Natasha in the kitchen, evidently he had crashed in one of the spare rooms for the night, at least that’s what Tony is told as he starts prepping his morning smoothie. He knows Clint is happily married and that nothing would happen between Nat and him, so he assumes that instead Clint has been recruited to team Watch Tony. 

  
Annoyed, he makes his smoothie and leaves without saying much and goes straight to the lab in the office to test Peter’s suggestions.

  
They are both still there when he gets home, but he feels a little less panicked about not making it for 5 since he knows Peter likely isn’t there anyway. He’s pissed when Clint and Nat decide to hang out in the living room, which is right across from the lab, for the evening though. They giggle and talk happily with Clint’s wife and kids over Skype well past 10 and Tony slumps off to bed, disappointed. 

  
The next day is annoyingly a repeat of the day before, with the only change being that rather than talking to Clint’s family, he and Nat sit and discuss the case of the missing Hulk. Tony wasn’t wrong that she had been spending time trying to find Bruce and she evidently decided to enlist Clint’s advice on the case, in the living room, until almost midnight. 

  
Heart hurting, Tony is forced to go to bed a second day without hearing Peter’s voice. So it’s no surprise that he reacts rather enthusiastically the next day when he finds out Clint is heading home that day and even better, Nat is flying him in one of the jets. Tony cheerfully suggests she stay the night there, hang out with Clint’s family in person and he about jumps for joy when she tells him she was already planning on that. The best part is that it’s Saturday, he doesn’t have to work and he can’t help but wonder if Peter might check in earlier in the day since he wasn’t in school. 

  
Tony heads to the lab after breakfast, which he actually eats, and fiddles with some schematics he had come up with for the nano suit he’s built into the reactor in his chest while he waits for Clint and Nat to leave. He waits about five minutes after they have gone out the door before hurrying into the party room and firing everything up. The screen fills with high speed blurry buildings flying past and he realizes that Peter is out patrolling, swinging between buildings and he about shouts in happiness. As it is, he waits until Peter stops swinging for a moment, landing safely on top of a short building, standing on the ledge to look down at the street, before he says anything, for fear that startling him could cause an accident. 

  
“Hey Pete,” he says with a laugh and Peter jolts in surprise before he laughs as well.

  
“Tony, holy shit, you’re here, when did you get here, can we talk?”

  
“Few minutes ago, wanted to wait until there was less risk of you face planting a building before I said anything and yeah, we can definitely talk as long as you want today, and tonight, Nat’s gone to Clint’s farm until tomorrow, so I thought I’d check in on you.”

  
“That’s amazing! Yeah, I mean, I was just gonna patrol for a while and maybe go to the library, May’s at work till like 6, so I’ll have to go have dinner with her but I can get back up on the roof later like before,” Peter hurries out, voice happy. “Let me just… hold on,” Peter adds before taking off again, working his way up a tall condo building that’s still under construction. Since it’s Saturday, there isn’t anyone there working on it and he perches himself inside one of the empty units so no one can see him before sitting down and getting comfortable. 

  
“So how have things been? How is May?” Tony asks, settling back himself and putting his feet up on the table, taking a sip of his smoothie. 

  
“Good, she’s good, I have a new suit for prom, against my will, but we went out for dinner to mark my Uncle Ben’s birthday and at least we were able to talk without it being awkward or tense, so that’s good,” Peter replies, pulling a bag of gummy worms out of a hidden spot in his suit, making Tony laugh. “Don’t laugh at my snack, I know you’re drinking one of those gross green drinks, I can hear you, so you do not get to make fun of me.”

  
“Fair enough, though I might point out that what I’m consuming is far more healthy than your choice,” Tony deadpans and Peter snorts.

  
“Tony, I’m enhanced, I can eat whatever the hell I want,” he retorts and Tony laughs again. 

  
“You aren’t immortal Pete, but whatever,” Tony shrugs. “Tell me about your Uncle Ben, you’ve never really said anything about him, though I understand if it’s tough to talk about him,” Tony asks and then adds realizing his mistake. 

  
“No, no, it’s ok, I know you… I mean,” Peter stutters out and Tony feels horrible immediately. “I never really talk about him cuz then I have to think about him dying, and how it was my fault. I was right there, I could have stopped it, if I had just been paying attention, if I hadn’t been…”

  
“Peter, I don’t know much about how he died, but I know it’s not your fault, never has been, never will be, please, please know that ok baby? It was not your fault,” Tony says softly. He never had really looked into it, partly because he was self-absorbed, but also because he sort of thought Peter would tell him someday. He knew it was something about a robbery gone wrong, but he didn’t know the details, just that Peter had been there. 

  
“I was walking away Tony, being an asshole because the clerk at the store had been a jerk to me so I didn’t care that he’d just been robbed, I didn’t care that the guy who robbed him was armed, that he was taking off down the street and getting away, and my uncle was there, he was looking for me, because he cared about me, and he got caught in the middle of it,” Peter says in a broken voice, sniffling once and Tony aches to touch him, comfort him properly. “What kind of fucking superhero am I if I just let the guy get away?”

  
“You are not responsible for what happened, Peter, I know it sounds bad but the truth is, things can happen that we have no control over, no matter how strong or prepared or capable we might be, there are some things in life we just cannot control and the series of events that led to your uncle’s death are not your fault,” Tony says firmly. He knew a little of what Peter was feeling, so did Wanda, so did Bruce, and others who fell into the ‘superhero’ category. It was always a very tough pill to swallow when you knew you could do something, but still shit happened, even when you tried. He could only imagine how much worse it was for Peter since it was his own family member he’d lost. “That piece of shit walked into that store with a loaded gun, he made that decision and the consequences of that decision are on him.”

  
“I was right there Tony, I was walking away,” Peter sniffles again and Tony will mentally kick himself for bringing this up for a good long while and he knows it.

  
“You didn’t know what was going to happen Pete, there’s no way you could have, this isn’t on you baby, no one blames you,” Tony urges again.

  
“I do,” Peter says simply and Tony sighs softly, he understood that sentiment entirely. There was a shit ton of things he blamed himself for that frankly were probably not in his control like his parents’ deaths. Sometimes rationality wasn’t always the winner when it came to sentiment. 

  
“I know you do, and I’m sorry you do, I get it, I blame myself for a lot of stuff that isn’t my fault either, sometimes it’s something we do, but one day, I hope, you will realize and understand it wasn’t your fault.”

  
Peter makes a huffing sound that indicated that he disagreed but Tony decides not to push it any further. 

  
“I think Ben would have liked you though,” Peter adds softly a minute later, shifting the discussion. “I mean, I’m sure he would have felt the same about our relationship as May does, but I think he would have liked you as a person.”

  
“Was he more relaxed than May because she doesn’t strike me as a strict person, at least for the most part,” Tony asks, glad that Peter was focusing on more positive things. 

  
“Yeah, he was a little more, I think he really took his job as my parent pretty seriously, not that May doesn’t, but he seemed to really want to be a proper dad to me, complete with rules and all of that, but he broke them more often than I did,” Peter laughs. “He was a pretty easy-going guy though, he was good to me and I miss him.”

  
“I don’t doubt it,” Tony agrees. 

  
“What was it like growing up with your dad?” Peter asks carefully and Tony tenses slightly. Certainly recent years had taught him a lot more about his dad than he had known when the man was alive but it still was a tough discussion to have. But it was only fair, considering what he had just made Peter talk about. 

  
“Not easy, at all, we butted heads more than we agreed, he was strict, corporal, and I spent the vast majority of my life thinking that he didn’t even really like me,” Tony states, and he hears Peter gasp. “Howard was a difficult man, brilliant, but difficult, but I know now that he did love me, that he was actually doing what he thought was best for me, preparing me, teaching me and I mean, I wouldn’t have what I have now if it wasn’t for what he did for me. I guess I’m just sort of sad that I didn’t get this understanding and knowledge while he was still alive, so I could tell him how much I appreciate it and get it now. I miss him, more than I probably thought I would a few years ago.”

  
“I’m sorry Tony, I can’t even imagine going through that in your childhood, I barely remember my parents but what I do remember is happy, though maybe that’s just what my brain wants me to keep, who knows,” Peter trails off and Tony hears him shrug. 

  
“My mom was awesome, I mean, she wasn’t your typical mom baking in the kitchen or whatever, but she was supportive, had my back you know,” Tony says to the wall as his eyes trail off, memories flashing through his mind. “I hate knowing how they died now, even though having the truth should maybe be a comfort or whatever, but seeing it, knowing how it happened, how terrified she must have been, it’s uh… it eats at me, I guess that’s why I haven’t called Steve.”

  
“I get it, I know why you haven’t and I support you.”

  
Tony knows Peter gets it, he watched his uncle die. Such strange things they have in common. 

  
“Do you mind… I mean, can I ask how your parents died?” Tony asks carefully, not sure if he should but also feeling like if they were laying all the depressing cards on the table, might as well get all 52 down. 

  
“Plane crash, details weren’t really specific, at least not that May has told me and my uncle wouldn’t talk about it, it was really rough on both of them,” Peter replies, thankfully not sounding upset with Tony’s question. “They worked for the military and were going on some sort of mission or something, no one has really ever told me.”

  
“Have you ever tried to find out? I’m sure I could look into it,” Tony offers, mentally telling himself to only proceed if Peter wants him to, he didn’t want to invade his privacy again. 

  
“A little, but honestly, and I’m sorry for saying this, but after what you went through with finding out about your parents, I’m not sure I want to know now,” Peter says carefully, apologetically and Tony gets it. There is definitely a part of him that wishes he didn’t know what had happened to his own parents either, that he hadn’t seen that video. 

  
“It’s ok, I understand, probably all too well, but if you ever change your mind, the offer will remain open.”

  
“Ok, thank you.”

  
It’s quiet for a few minutes while they both process. Tony hadn’t intended for them to have such heavy discussions, but it was also good, for them and for their relationship to be open, talk about the tougher stuff. But now he felt like maybe it was time to lighten things a bit, so he starts talking instead about funny stories, his life growing up in private schools and the shit he’d get up to. It helps open Peter up as well and he tells Tony about how he met Ned, and how Ned had found out about him being Spiderman. Tony can tell he misses his friend and urges him to find a way to talk to him, sort it out, just like he was with May. They both agree that Ned doesn’t need to know about their relationship, but they could still be friends if they worked things out.

  
The time passes as they talk about their lives, how things had changed since they had essentially become other beings as Iron Man and Spiderman and what they thought the future might hold for that. But Peter loves hearing about the first time Tony had met Thor and how he had been duped by Natasha into believing she was just a secretary. 

  
The time passes faster than either would like and Peter is asking Tony about what MIT was like when they both notice that it is creeping close to 5:30. 

  
“I should get home before she gets there,” Peter says sadly, not wanting to end their time. “But I mean, we can still talk later again right?” He asks quickly, hopefully.

  
“Absolutely, like I said, I’ve got all night, so don’t worry too much, go have dinner with your aunt, I’m gonna order something, watch a movie to pass the time and it’ll be 10 before we know it,” he says cheerfully, happy for once knowing that they could at least count on this night. 

  
“Ok, good,” Peter says with relief, standing up and heading to the edge of the balcony of the unfinished condo he was in. “Are you gonna watch me fly home? Stay until she gets home?”

  
“Sure, though you make me dizzy at times with how fast you go,” he admits.

  
“Tony, you fly in a metal suit, through the air, kinda like me,” Peter points out.

  
“Yes, I know, but I mean, it’s a little less wild, I mean, and I have control and a screen in front of me showing me other stuff I can focus on,” Tony defends himself and he hears Peter laugh once. 

  
“Ok, well I’ll try to take it easy for your delicate sensibilities, alright?” 

  
“Good, thank you, it’s appreciated,” Tony declares, frowning at being laughed at though he knows it’s not mean spirited by the younger man. 

  
Peter shoots a web down to a gargoyle on the neighboring building, it’s much lower than his current level and immediately Tony knows that he’s about to break that promise to take it easy as he leaps out and drops before jerking sideways and flying around the side of the building wildly, shooting another web just in time to grab the next target as he picks his way down the block and towards home. Tony only watches for about a minute before he feels a touch queasy and has to close his eyes while Peter whoops happily and laughs freely, loving every second of it. The wind as it passes is loud and so is Peter’s breathing when he seems to come to a stop. 

  
“If you have your eyes closed, which I sense you do, I’m home, you can open them again,” he says with a laugh, the sound of his window opening following his words and Tony opens his eyes and sees Peter’s bedroom as he moves about, taking the suit off but leaving the mask on for now. 

  
“You made a promise,” Tony points out and Peter laughs. 

  
“You ok there?” He asks innocently and Tony grumbles slightly but then laughs himself. 

  
He gets quick glimpses of Peter’s body as he takes the suit off, stashing it in his closet before snagging the jeans he left on his bed and pulling those on, a t-shirt and then sweater blinding both of them for a minute as he gets them on. Dressed, he plops down on his bed and Tony smirks, laughing once. 

  
“I miss that bed,” he says in a deep voice. “I miss us in that bed.”

  
“You and me both,” Peter breathes out. “Hey, do you um, do you still have the footage from the camera of that night?” He asks carefully. 

  
“I wiped everything Pete, I thought it was the right thing to do since you were so upset with me, and admittedly also to cover my ass because I thought I was about to be arrested,” Tony admits, hating to remember that day and the consequences that followed. 

  
“Oh,” Peter answers simply at first. “I mean, I absolutely appreciate you doing it to acknowledge my feelings and I get wanting to protect yourself for sure, but I guess maybe I kinda wish you still had that footage, though I mean, it’s not like you can send it to me or anything.”

  
“I wish I still had it too, just that, because it was both of us,” Tony agrees. He had regretted wiping that footage so many times in those weeks without Peter.

  
“Well hopefully we can make more footage sometime in the future,” Peter adds, and Tony can hear the smirk in his voice and he laughs. 

  
“Oh hell yes,” he agrees. 

  
“Oh shit, I hear May, I gotta go, I’m sorry,” Peter says quickly.

  
“It’s ok baby, don’t apologize, I love you and I will talk to you later,” Tony hurries out. 

  
“I love you too, talk to you soon,” Peter says just as fast before taking the mask off and blackening the room. 

  
Tony doesn’t let it get him down though, he knows they had more time coming tonight. So he does what he said he’d do, he goes and orders a pizza and flops down in the theatre room to watch some Netflix while he eats it. 

  
It’s as he’s sitting there that something starts niggling its way into his mind. All this time, when he wasn’t talking to Peter, he had just done what Fury had told him under the assumption that he was being closely monitored. And he likely was, he probably wasn’t just paranoid about that, but realistically, how closely would that be. More importantly, Natasha had asked him to come out for dinner and drinks, meaning that she had basically given him permission to leave. He had stayed put thinking he was basically under house arrest but evidently that wasn’t really the case, though clearly it was under the caveat that he would be with her when he left. 

  
When he wasn’t talking to Peter, he had mistakenly believed that Fury was right, Peter had moved on and forgotten him, so he hadn’t really thought about making any efforts to get away or go see Peter. Now that he knew that Peter still loved him, hadn’t moved on at all, it was frankly incentive for Tony to get inventive. Fuck Fury, he couldn't keep them apart forever, and he likely wasn’t even the one watching Tony anyway, he’d have lackeys doing that. Tony just had to keep his movements as unsuspicious as possible, he could do that, he was sneaky as hell. 

  
But when? And how? He mulls it over while waiting for 10 to arrive and then he heads back to the party room. One thing was for certain, he had to find a way to be able to talk to Peter in other locations. He had the server, he had access and the ability to create the technology, he just had to get it done. So that was first on the to do list. 

  
Peter isn’t there yet when he gets set up so he sits and fiddles with his AI glasses. 

  
Then it hits him.

  
The glasses, the pair in his hands aren’t the only ones he made. He had a prototype pair sitting in the lab just outside the party room that he hadn’t finished but they were identical for the most part to the ones in his hand. He could keep this pair as they are, complete with connections to the Avengers servers, while also programming the other pair to only attach to his private server. He carried the damn things everywhere so him taking them to say, his bedroom, wouldn't look that weird to whatever underpaid agent was watching him at the time on the security cameras. It wouldn’t look weird for him to be working on them either, he just had to make sure the security cameras only saw him with one pair at a time, so it would look like he only had one. 

  
The screen comes to life suddenly and Peter’s breathless voice fills the room just as Tony has another brainwave. 

  
“Tony? You there?”

“Yeah Pete, I’m here, when did you say your prom was again? And where is it?” He asks and Peter makes a confused noise.

  
“Uh, a week from tonight, at my school, why?” He replies confused and suspicious at the same time and Tony laughs. Peter’s school was in Queens, and Tony knew the area well, it was only a couple of blocks from a decent motel that he knew took cash and didn’t ask questions. Yes it was sordid, but it was better than nothing. 

  
“I have an idea Pete, I think I can find a way to sneak out of here, and somewhere we can meet that night, and your aunt won’t even think anything of you being gone because she will think you are at prom,” Tony explains, though he still didn’t know how he was gonna sneak out. 

  
“What?” Peter exclaims. “How? Did Fury stop watching you?”

  
“No, but fuck, I built this damn place and most of what’s in it, I’m the mechanic, I can outsmart him and I should have done it sooner honestly,” Tony points out, frustrated with himself for giving in, being paranoid and not acting sooner. He’d just rolled over, given in, become an office lackey willingly and it was time it stopped and he found himself again. “There’s a motel not far from the place your prom is at, they take cash, don’t ask questions, we can meet up there, if you want to.”

  
“Of course I want to!” Peter yells. “Are you kidding me? Of course I want this and it’ll be easy for me right? I just gotta go to prom and then sneak away, I can do that no problem, but are you sure you can get away safely?”

  
“Let me work on that, ok, I can figure something out,” Tony replies, fingers idly tapping the reactor on his chest when a third brainwave hits him. He’s beginning to wonder if he was in a stupor or something and now suddenly it’s cleared and his brain is working again because these answers have been in front of his fucking face the whole time. The glasses and now the reactor or more specifically, the nano suit he built in it. He controlled it entirely, because it was on his body, he could easily program it to run off of his private server as well, but even better, with FRIDAY at his disposal, he could monitor any activity watching him in return. He just needed to make some adjustments, add some sort of way to cloak or disguise himself as he got away. First he needed to get out though, but that shouldn’t be too difficult, because he designed the security system in the building in the first place. 

  
“Ok, well, if you need help,” Peter offers. 

  
“Yeah I know, you have awesome ideas but I think I’m already figuring it out, no worries,” Tony declares, grinning to himself. 

  
“Oh my God, I can’t wait to see you,” Peter says excitedly. “I mean, I love talking to you obviously, but man I want more, I miss you so much.”

“Me too Peter, I miss you more than anything and I cannot wait to touch you again, see your face,” Tony breathes out, joy and relief washing through him that they had a plan, or at least the majority of a plan, Tony still had work to do, but it was something to look forward to. “God I cannot wait to fuck you,” Tony states evenly and Peter laughs. 

  
“Well it is my prom night, I was promised lots of sex and underage drinking,” he points out and Tony laughs. “I don’t need the drinking though personally. Just the sex.”

  
“I can provide both, in copious amounts,” Tony offers and Peter giggles. 

  
The mere thought of touching Peter again has Tony half hard in his pants rapidly and he palms himself through the flannel fabric of his pajama pants, making his breathing hitch, a sound that does not go unnoticed by Peter. 

  
“What are you wearing Mr. Stark?” He asks cheekily and Tony laughs, groaning slightly at the end. 

  
“Pajama pants, the same thin blue plaid ones, your t-shirt,” he describes with a laugh, realizing he’s wearing exactly the same thing he was wearing the last time they did this.

  
“It might be time for you to get some new pajamas, just saying, if you are always wearing the same thing,” Peter points out with a snort. 

  
“If you were here, I’d be naked,” Tony retorts and Peter’s breathing hitches this time, clearly he’s picturing the older man nude now. “Did you dress up for our meeting tonight?”

  
“No… actually I’m wearing the same thing as last time as well,” Peter laughs. 

  
“No underwear again?” Tony asks, licking his lips.

  
“Nope,” Peter says simply, looking down so Tony can see straight down into his pants again at his erection. 

  
“Shit Peter, you are killing me baby,” Tony groans out, hand going down his own pants to start stroking himself. 

  
“One week Tony, one week and we will be together,” Peter says firmly as he starts jerking himself quickly, still watching so Tony can see. 

  
“Yup, one week and I’ll be inside you, all night,” Tony says with a moan, speeding his hand up to match Peter’s pace, feeling the heat building in his groin quickly, telling him that he was already close. 

  
“Oh my God I want that so bad, I miss that, feeling you inside of me, your hands touching me, God I want it so bad right now,” Peter breathes out, voice hitching and breaking, the sound enough to send Tony over the edge and he comes groaning Peter’s name, body shaking from it and he almost comes again just watching Peter finish, pulling his cock out of his pants quickly and painting the pavement beneath him as he cries out loudly. 

  
“I hope to God none of your neighbors have their windows open tonight,” Tony says with a laugh as Peter slumps against the wall, breathing hard, laughing once at Tony’s comment. 

  
“Whatever,” Peter says with a hand wave and Tony laughs. “Fuck that just made me want you so much more, a week now feels like a lifetime.”

  
“It won’t be, I promise.”

  
“Are you going to give me an insight into your master plan to get out of there?” Peter asks as he tucks himself away, turning to lean back against the wall. 

  
“Nanotech. The suit I have built into the reactor in my chest, I think with some modifications, it’s my escape ride,” Tony says easily, cleaning himself up with tissues he smartly brought with him because he knew he and Pete would end up like this, they always did. 

  
Peter hums in thought. 

  
“You gonna just fly right out of there? Won’t they see you?”

  
“I’m working on that part, hence the modifications I need to make,” Tony points out. 

  
“Ok, well I trust you, I know if anyone can do it, it’s you,” Peter says supportively and Tony smiles. 

  
“Should I bring the lube or do you want to take care of that?” He asks, knowing full well that despite just masturbating publicly on a roof, Peter would still blush crimson at the thought of walking into a store and buying lube. 

  
“Um, I mean, I can if you need me to,” he replies, clearly flustered. “I mean, I have to make sure May doesn’t find it.”

  
“Pete, don’t worry, I’ve got it,” Tony laughs. 

  
“Oh, ok good,” Peter breathes out in relief and Tony laughs harder. “Stop laughing at me, it’s not as easy for me to go buy something like that.”

“I know, I know Pete, it’s all good, I was just getting a little payback for you questioning my master plan here,” Tony says with a smirk and Peter snorts. 

  
“Ok fine, I’ll never doubt you again.”

  
“Good, that’s much better.”

  
Despite his promise, Peter starts asking questions about the suit anyway, the specifications, what modifications Tony planned to do, and ways to disguise himself. Tony doesn’t mind though, he appreciates Peter’s input and talking tech was so easy with him and it makes up for their more difficult conversation earlier. 

  
They keep talking for several hours, various subjects crossing their paths and while Tony worries about Peter being cold, his breath visible in front of him, Peter refuses to go inside because that would mean an end to their night. 

  
When the sun starts to rise, they do realize it’s time to stop though, before May wakes up and realizes Peter isn’t in the apartment. Their goodbye isn’t nearly as difficult or bittersweet this time, because they knew they would have more time, it was easier to believe that now. 

  
When Peter finally takes the mask off, heading down to bed, Tony stretches as he stands and logs everything off and shuts down and grabs the AI glasses and takes them with him to his own bed. He can’t help but smile as he settles under the covers while the sun starts to fill the room. 

  
It felt so good to be hopeful again. 


	15. Chapter 15

Less than an hour after he goes to bed he wakes to the sound of the Quinjet landing outside and remembers Natasha. She was home already and he realizes that in all of his plans for his and Peter’s prom night extravaganza, he’d entirely forgotten about her. She was a wrench in the works for sure. But, he figures, one he will have to think about later, he had to work on all of the other details first. 

  
He debates getting up, he’s exhausted but it wouldn’t be the first time he’s operated on next to no sleep so he gets up. Despite being tired, he feels a buzz, a desire to start working with his hands to put all of his plans into action. First thing was the glasses, he wanted to be able to talk to Pete easier, without having to skulk off to the damn party room. He quickly brushes his teeth and cleans himself up, leaving his pajamas on though he adds a hoodie with a big front pocket. He feels no inclination to get properly dressed and grabs the glasses he normally wears and heads out to the kitchen to get coffee.

  
Natasha is already there when he walks in, brewing up a pot and she looks pretty tired herself.

  
“Back so soon, thought you’d want to stay longer, hang out, we aren’t fighting any world crisis, you can have a vacation you know,” he points out while grabbing an apple and biting into it. 

  
She glances back at him, hair in a messy bun and circles under her eyes matching her t-shirt and jeans. 

  
“What and miss this scintillating conversation?” She retorts as she pours a cup of coffee for herself. “Nah, I knew I needed to get back, and it was a good visit, I’m glad I went.”

  
“Get back for what exactly?” Tony asks as he gets his own coffee, stuffing the apple in his teeth to hold while he finishes filling the mug. He keeps waiting for her to tell him the truth, that Fury has asked her to watch him, but she’s too savvy for that. 

  
“Tony, it may have escaped your notice but several members of our team are missing or are basically fugitives now, we probably should do something about that,” she points out, taking a sip of her coffee and then peeling a banana. 

  
“They made their choices, not my circus, not my monkeys,” Tony replies dryly, picking up his coffee and apple and heading to the door. “If you’re here for me for some reason, it’s not necessary and you are just wasting your time. Go find Bruce.”

  
He doesn’t wait for a reply as he heads to the lab where he puts his coffee down and tosses his apple core into the trash. Grabbing a few tools, he pretends to be looking for more while deftly switching out the usual glasses with the prototype ones. He places them on the work table, which immediately lights up and starts showing him schematics. 

  
“FRIDAY this is off server, just technical work, disconnect all running connections and activate dark mode,” he instructs and the AI obeys immediately. Doing basic programming work and adjustments wasn’t unusual in dark mode, it just made doing tests easier. If he so happened to ‘forget’ to turn dark mode off, well that was just an oversight. Not that anyone was likely to notice since the regular glasses he wore publicly were going to still be connected to the servers. These tiny blips, shifts in connections and stuff were things Tony would notice no question if he were the one monitoring but he knew no one else would. 

  
Once the glasses are in dark mode, he starts moving his hands quickly, moving data around in the schematics, adding in a link to his private server, as well as new firewalls and an alarm that would alert him if anyone did try to access his server or monitor him. Rather than be behind Fury’s surveillance, he was going to get ahead of it. While he’s at it, he adjusts the lenses and installs a much better microphone and ear piece since he planned on using these to actually converse with another person.

  
“Friday, check for any gaps,” he instructs and the AI starts running tests to make sure everything is working properly. When she affirms that everything is good he picks the glasses up and pops them on his face but doesn’t connect them or take them off dark mode. He pockets the other ones deftly while pretending to put tools away. 

  
Satisfied, he heads back out to the hallway and then off to his bedroom, ignoring Natasha as he goes by, not that she acknowledges him either, and closes the door behind himself. With her in the vicinity, he wouldn’t be able to talk very loudly, but he also didn’t really want to wait to test to see if the new glasses work. Once again, patience is not one of his virtues. 

  
His solution to this is to turn the television on in his bedroom, a touch louder than usual, and he steps into the bathroom. 

  
“Friday, remove dark mode, connect to my private server only, alert me if there are any outside connections or monitoring,” he instructs.

  
“Yes sir, input your password please,” she says in her pleasant accent. 

  
“Starker,” Tony says clearly, finding the password amusing as always.

  
“Thank you sir, the server is connected and roaming activated,” she confirms. 

  
“Good, connect me to the Spiderman suit, let’s see if Pete’s up,” he asks, body buzzing with excitement. He waits a second as she does as she’s told and moments later the lenses shift and instead of looking at his towel rack, he sees what Peter can see, which is nothing, he’s not wearing the mask. Tony grumbles in frustration but then remembers, he’s probably sleeping. 

  
Well that’s just annoying, but not everyone was an insomniac like Tony, so he’s going to have to wait until later to see if his work has paid off. At least maybe Natasha will have buggered off by then and he won’t have to sit in the bathroom. 

  
“Sir, there is someone outside the bedroom door,” Friday announces. “It appears to be Agent Romanov.”

  
Well at least the proximity monitoring and alert system was working. 

  
“Thank you Friday, disconnect from my server and go into standby on these glasses please,” Tony says, taking them off quickly and going out to hide them in the side table beside the bed. He quickly puts the regular pair on his head and goes over to the door as he hears Natasha’s voice outside it.

  
“Tony, can you turn that down, I wanna try and get some sleep,” she complains and he opens the door suddenly, startling her.

  
“You know, if I’m such an annoying roommate, you don’t have to stay with me,” he points out and she huffs out an annoyed noise.

  
“Tony, it might have escaped your notice, or you forgot, but when you built this place, it became my home, I have nowhere else to go, so while your incredibly warm welcome has been lovely, can you stop trying to get rid of me and just let me be? Ok? Let’s just stay out of each other’s hair and accept that this is the way it is right now.”

  
Guilt prickles down his back, she was right, this was her home as much as it was his. 

  
“Fine, stop watching me though, it’s getting weird,” he tells her and she closes her eyes slowly. Even if Fury had told her to keep an eye on him, there was clearly only so much Tony she could take before even she would abandon the mission. And she never abandoned missions. 

  
“Whatever, I never was watching you, just being a friend but evidently you don’t want that and it’s fine, neither do I, now shut up so I can sleep,” she demands before turning on her heel and heading towards her own room, slamming the door in emphasis. 

  
Tony shrugs a moment later and then closes his own door, but he does turn the TV way down low, putting closed captioning on. He feels like he’s at a loose end. He’s made these glasses, can talk to Pete in here now, but Pete is sleeping. And Tony is bored. Really he should do the same as Nat and take a nap, but he’s had coffee, he’s awake, he’s fidgety and he’s definitely bored. 

  
He grabs his tablet and starts fiddling with it, adding in his own server and cloaking it before using it to look up the motel and getting basic directions. That done, he reaches into the side table drawer and grabs the glasses and puts them back on, reconnecting and telling Friday to let him know when the suit turned on. 

  
While he waits for Peter, he stands up and taps the reactor in his chest and activates the nanotech suit which quickly spreads across his body. He wants to try to get some adjustments made or at least get an idea of what he needed to do specifically for when he could get it into a lab. He planned on working on it right in the open in the office lab because first, it had more stuff, more tools and technology, but also it would look less suspicious. He was supposed to work on updating and creating better tech for Iron Man and War Machine and the other suits, it was part of his job basically so why not use the resources he set up and built in that office for his own purposes as well?

  
He does what he can right now though using Friday, just the basic stuff and then taps the reactor again and waits as it disappears back into its hiding place. 

  
That done, and still bored, he stares at the roof, thinking about all the wiring inside it that he needs to get at to redirect the security system to allow him to get out the window undetected but that required tools, which he didn’t have currently. This causes him to pause and think about exactly what he would need and then how he would get them into the room. The hoodie had worked once, he could use it again, but he might have to make several trips. 

  
“Friday, which security cameras are currently operational in this area?”

  
“The main hallway leading from the kitchen to the front door, the living room, the kitchen and the front door boss,” she replies. Whoever was watching only has those screens up right now. 

  
“Lock them that way temporarily, make it look like a glitch, let me know if someone tries to change them or use the lab one,” he instructs, going through the door with the glasses still on, knowing they looked just like the other pair he normally wore which were still in his bedroom. 

  
He hurries to the lab while also trying to look nonchalant in the hallway and quickly starts stuffing the tools he needs into his hoodie pocket and then when that gets full and heavy looking, he starts tucking them into the waistband of his pants.

  
“Someone is attempting to check the lab camera sir,” Friday interrupts and he really scrambles to get the last few things he needed before grabbing a screwdriver and quickly leaving the lab, telling Friday to release the lock on the cameras.

  
Moving nonchalantly again he saunters into the kitchen and opens the dishwasher and kneels down to adjust the wheels on the bottom drawer, something he’d been meaning to do for a while but now it gave him some cover. Moving isn’t the easiest with his pocket and pants full, but he does his best to look as normal as possible.

Wheels adjusted and tightened, he just as nonchalantly saunters back to the lab to put the screwdriver back. Friday lets him know that the person monitoring is watching his every move and he feels highly tempted to flip them the bird but restrains himself. Instead he goes back to the kitchen and loads the dishwasher, so it wouldn’t look bizarre that he came out of his bedroom to just fix the wheels without doing anything else. 

  
When the dishes are done, he wipes down the counter and as he turns slightly to get into a corner he feels a small wire stripper release from his waistband to slide down his pant leg where it wedges into his slipper. He barely breathes for a moment, terrified it will fall out and onto the floor, but as he moves his foot slightly, it just falls deeper into his slipper, uncomfortably so, but doesn’t make its presence known otherwise. 

  
Deciding that the kitchen is damn clean enough, he walks back to his bedroom, trying to disguise how awkward it is with the tool in his slipper, the others in his waistband now feeling a touch loose and his heart starts pounding in his chest as he hurries as best as he can to safety. 

  
Once behind the door he leans back against it to breathe out a sigh of relief and as he does so, several more tools fall and slide out the bottom of his pants onto the carpet. He just shakes his head and removes the rest, collecting them all and piling them on the bed before grabbing a chair and sliding it over to the panel just above the window. 

  
He ends up having to pile a few things onto the chair in order to reach, but he gets his head and arms into the space and starts sorting the wires with a flashlight in his mouth. It takes him over three hours, but eventually he manages to remove the alarm and security system from his window, aiming it elsewhere so there wouldn’t be any other alarms triggered notifying security of a disruption. 

  
Dusty and sweaty, he climbs down from his wobbly ladder and stretches his back and recollects the tools. They need to go back to the lab, but frankly he doesn’t have the energy to repeat the process and he figures he might need some of them again for something while he prepared for his great escape. 

  
He sits down on the end of the bed to take a break, considering going to take a shower when suddenly Friday is in his ear.

  
“Sir, the Spiderman suit has just been activated.”

  
Shower and everything else forgotten, Tony quickly tells her to connect him and he gets a visual of Peter’s roof. 

  
“Pete? Can you hear me?” Tony asks quietly, knowing that Natasha was only a few rooms away. “Tony? You’re here?” Peter asks, surprised.

  
“Uh, yeah, I’ve been busy this morning, used the prototype glasses and connected them to my private server so I can talk to you anywhere now, though that’s mostly just gonna be my bedroom with Natasha here,” Tony explains while hurrying into the bathroom to hide the conversation. 

  
“That’s awesome! Good thinking!” Peter says happily. 

  
“Not my only project this morning, I just fixed the security system over my window so I can get out without being detected and I made some adjustments to my suit already, though I’m not done with that yet.”

  
“Wow, you’ve been busy, did you sleep at all?” Peter asks, concern creeping into his voice.

  
“For an hour, Nat woke me up coming home and I figured if I was up, I should try to get started in case I hit any problems or delays,” Tony replies, smiling softly at Peter worrying about him. 

  
“Smart, for sure, I’m glad you’ve made progress,” Peter agrees, sounding mollified. “I haven’t told May I’m going to prom yet, I’m still pretending I’m not going, just so she thinks she’s breaking me down rather than me suddenly agreeing because I think she might be suspicious about that.”

  
“Also smart, the less explanations you have to give, the better,” Tony agrees. “What are you up to today, are you going out patrolling?”

“I was going to, though I definitely was hoping you’d be around because that’s infinitely more interesting for me,” Peter laughs. 

  
“Good to hear,” Tony deadpans. “Well, I’ve got the rest of the day for you.”

  
“I’ve just got dinner later with May, otherwise I’m all yours as well.”

  
“Damn right you are,” Tony says with a growl and Peter laughs. 

  
“Don’t be getting possessive,” he admonishes. “Though I kind of like it.”

  
“Ooooh, kinky now are we? Does that mean I can tie you up some time?” Tony asks seductively and Peter squeaks slightly in surprise.

“I… guess?” He replies and Tony laughs quietly. Peter had certainly become more relaxed when it came to sex and dirty talk but there were still things that threw him and Tony loved to find them. 

  
“It’s not an ‘I guess’ when it comes to BDSM Pete,” he points out. 

  
“I guess I had just never thought of it before… BDSM or being tied up, is that something you are into?” He asks carefully. 

  
“Yeah, not the really rough stuff, or anything weird, but being tied up or tying you up for sure, yes, it’s definitely a kink of mine,” Tony answers honestly. “What about you? Is there anything you want to try? Something that really turns you on?”

  
Peter is quiet for a long moment, considering and Tony wonders just how much he’s even explored the idea of kinks. He watches porn, Tony knows that much, but from what he heard, it was pretty vanilla basic stuff. 

  
“I don’t know, I mean, I don’t have a lot of experience, you know that,” Peter says finally, sounding ashamed and embarrassed. “I’d be ok with trying the restraint thing though, like just arms maybe to start,” he adds uneasily. 

  
“Peter, first of all, please do not feel bad about not knowing exactly what your kinks are or being into the same things as me, everyone is different and sometimes it can take years for someone to really figure out what gets their motor running, you’ve got time and I’m pretty open to trying anything that you think of that you might want to, I’m also ok with stopping if you decide you aren’t into it,” Tony says clearly, not wanting him to force himself into doing something that he was clearly hesitant about. “Secondly, do not force yourself to do something because you know I’m into it, that’s not how this works. Just because it’s something I’m into, doesn’t mean you have to be as well and it’s not a big deal for me, or a deal breaker, trust me. Clearly I have no issues with our sex life as it is right now babe, other than I wish we could be together more often.”

  
“Can I tie you up?” Peter asks suddenly and Tony is thrown off guard by it for a second and then laughs quietly. 

  
“Yes, I would be into that,” he agrees and he hears Peter smile. 

  
“Sorry, I just, I like to touch you, but I don’t know, I was just thinking about it and I think the idea of you being tied up is kinda hot,” Peter admits sheepishly and Tony laughs again. 

  
“I like this idea, what would you do to me while I was all helpless?” He asks, voice seductive again and Peter hums in thought. 

  
“Touch you, everywhere, get on top and ride you,” Peter decides, and Tony hears the blush creeping in as he talks about it while his own dick starts to really like this idea. 

  
“Yeah, we are definitely trying that,” he declares and Peter laughs loudly. 

  
“And maybe, I don’t know, I would like to be tied up myself, the more I think about it, the more I think it could be fun,” Peter adds. 

  
“It’s up to you, no pressure ok,” Tony points out and Peter hums in agreement. 

  
“Have you… yeah I guess you have, you know, tried it with other people,” Peter asks and then decides, voice a little shaky, clearly he wasn’t really thrilled with thinking about or talking about Tony sleeping with other people but he was also aware of Tony’s age and well known ample experience. 

  
“I have, not many times, but there have been willing partners,” Tony tells him, not wanting to lie. 

  
“How many people… I mean, like how many have you been with?” Peter asks carefully. 

  
Tony rolls his jaw as he considers the question. It was good to have this kind of frank discussion about previous history and Tony sure as shit had a reputation, one that was earned quite rightly and no doubt Peter had heard about it. 

  
“Um, I mean, I will admit that I don’t have an exact number but I was busy for a lot of years, I’m not gonna lie to you. Casual sex was a coping mechanism but also something fairly normal. I just haven’t actually been much of a relationship guy, and with my position and the fame and stuff, it was easy to get laid,” he stumbles out, trying to downplay it while also trying to be as honest as possible. “What I can tell you is that you are the first person I’ve been this serious about, the first person I have felt this strongly about, had this kind of connection with, and that is a different feeling for me, and I have no desire to be with anyone else now, it’s all about you for me.”

  
Peter considers his answer for a few moments before replying. 

  
“I mean, I don’t really have anything to compare with, you were my first kiss, my first everything, and I guess I just feel a little self-conscious, like you are comparing me with others you’ve been with and maybe I am not as good,” he finally admits, sounding shy. “But I mean, I’m all in with you, and I’m happy to hear you are with me, that you don’t want anyone else, that does help a little.”

  
“Pete, I have never once compared you to anyone else because you are incomparable. Like I said, this is a connection and feeling I’ve never experienced before so I actually don’t have a comparison there, but every partner is different, and I have had some of the best sex of my life with you, so please do not worry baby, you are special and spectacular and I don’t want you to ever feel otherwise,” Tony declares firmly. 

  
“Ok,” Peter agrees, though it’s a little weak and Tony knows he will still worry. It’ll take time to convince him but he’s worth putting in that time. 

  
“Please don’t ever be afraid to talk about this though, or ask me questions, we should be open about this kind of thing,” Tony tells him, knowing that being open and honest had often been a major issue for him in past relationships but they weren’t as important to him as Pete is and he doesn’t want to make mistakes now. 

  
“Yeah I know, and I’m glad we are talking about it,” Peter agrees, sounding a little better and Tony relaxes. “Have you figured out how to cloak the thrusters on your suit when you fly out of the compound yet?” Peter asks a moment later, clearly changing the subject and Tony smiles softly but goes with it. He’s opened the door wide, Pete knows he can talk about anything with Tony, he just has to get used to doing that, being comfortable with it and that will take time. But again, he was worth it. 

  
He starts describing some ideas he’s had, but he isn’t sure they will work and has no way to test them. This gets them going on possible fixes, which leads to other discussions and soon several hours have passed and Tony is just regaling Peter with a story about how he set fire to an expensive antique couch when he was 12 messing around with his dad’s inventions when they note the time. Peter reluctantly decides he should get home before May came looking for him but they agree to talk again later and end the afternoon on a positive note. 

  
Exhausted, the lack of sleep definitely catching up to him, Tony finally comes out of the bathroom and takes the glasses off and stashes them before heading to the kitchen to find food before he takes a short nap to recharge. He doesn’t see Natasha in his travels, doesn’t expect to but he quickly eats what he can find before retreating again.

  
He puts the glasses back on and tells Friday to alert him again when Spiderman came back online and dozes off almost immediately. 


	16. Chapter 16

It starts a pattern, more solid than they had before now that Tony had more freedom and they find themselves talking at least twice a day, which is a huge relief for both of them. It also adds to the anticipation and excitement for Saturday night, which motivates Tony to get his suit finished. 

  
Monday morning he whips through the assignments he’s been given in record time and then goes into the lab to get to work. His office mates don’t say anything, though they seem a bit surprised by his exuberance but they seem so relieved that Lykke has finally retired that they don’t see it necessary to question him. 

  
It takes him until Wednesday to get a full cloaking solution worked up using reflective panels and microscopic projectors that will make him appear as nothing more than a dark blur. The only issue is that it really will only work at night, as the sun will cause him to more or less sparkle. Kind of like Edward Cullen. But he decides that’s fine, he can just move about at night, it was better than nothing. 

  
He’s just finishing up repairing a glitch in a camera embedded in a hat someone asked him to repair when he can’t help but notice the type of camera it is. Small, black, Stark Industries emblazoned in tiny letters on the side. It’s the same type of camera he had put in Peter’s room. And it gives him an idea. Deciding that he will report that the glitch is not reparable, he hurries to the tech stock room and snags a new one, signing it out and reporting its intended use before heading back to the hat on the table, where he swiftly and stealthily stashes the new camera up his sleeve. Over the rest of the time in the lab he snags a few wires and transmitters and other bits and pieces he knows he will need and adds them to his sleeve. 

  
It’s not easy keeping it there for the rest of the hour he’s there but he manages it, returns the hat in working order to the agent who required it and hurries on home. He heads straight for his bedroom where he quickly pops the glasses on and tells F.R.I.D.A.Y. to connect the camera to his server and then gets to work on creating a new addition for Peter’s suit, which he plans to install when he sees him on Saturday. When that’s finished he stands up and looks around the room to decide where to put the camera. He decides that out of fairness, he should put it so it faces the bed. Climbing up on a chair, he gets it in position on the top of a bookcase, using the glasses to see the cameras angle.

  
Satisfied, he sits down on the bed and smiles to himself. Now Peter will be able to see him.

  
Finished, he heads to the kitchen to find dinner. He hears Natasha in the living room but doesn’t bother going out to talk to her. They haven’t actually said a word to each other since their argument on Sunday but he doesn’t let it bother him. If anything it was a blessing because it gave him more freedom to talk to Peter and he knew she was not likely to come check on him and discover him gone on Saturday night. 

  
He quickly boils some pasta and heats up some sauce and plates it before heading back to the bedroom and putting the glasses back on before turning CNN on. Peter had a meeting with his decathlon teammates after school and then was going for dinner with May, so Tony already knew he would be late showing up, but that was ok.

  
When Peter does arrive, he tells him all about how he has the suit ready, but doesn’t mention the camera, he wants that to be a surprise. They talk well into the night again, jerking off together as per before both turning in for the night. 

The closer it got to Saturday, the more difficult it became for Tony to even focus. He manages to get his required assignments done in the office but is adrift on thoughts of Peter the entire time. He can tell Peter is the same, having trouble paying attention in class and almost forgetting to turn in an assignment. 

  
Peter had decided to wait until Saturday to tell May he would go to prom. He knew she would go full in with pressuring him by then and it would make it more believable that he just gave in out of exasperation and to shut her up. It works, and when he gets a second to talk to Tony in the early afternoon, he’s over the moon about their plans finally fully coming together.

  
“What time should I get to the motel? What time are you getting there again? How are you gonna tell me what room number?” Peter hurries out, going over details they had already discussed a hundred times but it felt comforting to just make sure, extra sure.

  
“I’m aiming for like 9, it’s gotta be dark enough outside for me to make sure the reflectors and projectors are working. Once I get there and get a room, I’ll have the glasses on and will just wait for you to connect. Make sure you wear your suit under your prom outfit, once you have the mask on I’ll tell you what room number,” Tony reiterates. “It’ll also be good for both of us to have a way to communicate in case something goes wrong or we get delayed. What time is your aunt dropping you off at the school?”

“Well it starts at like 7, but I’m gonna try and delay a bit, so like 8? I guess? I’m not going in, I’m just gonna head to where I hid the backpack yesterday at the school and then up onto the roof to wait for you,” Peter replies, head swiveling slightly as he hears his aunt calling his name, telling him to come down for dinner so he could start getting ready. 

  
“Ok, sounds good, I’ll talk to you soon, and better yet, see you soon,” Tony tells him, body buzzing with anticipation. 

  
“Yes, fuck I can’t wait, I’ll see you soon,” Peter says breathlessly, standing up and starting the walk towards the fire escape. “Love you.”

  
“Love you too baby,” Tony replies and then Peter pulls the mask off. 

  
Tony quickly checks the time, it was just a little after 4, he still had some time so he decides to eat something himself and then he showers and gets ready. Choosing what to wear becomes more complicated than it should be, considering he planned on spending the entire night with Peter naked, but for some reason it feels like it matters. In the end he goes with dark jeans and Peter’s t-shirt. He sincerely hopes he can get Peter to wear it for a little while, so it will smell like him again. 

  
Fresh, ready and prepared, Tony then has to sit and wait. 

  
For close to three hours. 

  
He stares out the window longingly, willing the sun to hurry the hell up and set. The parking lots and outside are quiet, only a few people about working since it’s Saturday and there weren’t aliens attacking or anything. They all disappear by the time 8 rolls around and dusk starts to set. 

  
Tony double checks that he has everything once more, just to be sure. Glasses, check. Cash, check (thank God for the safe in his bedroom). Lube, check. New tech for Peter’s suit, check. 

  
As a last thought when the sun is finally behind the horizon, he goes and locks his bedroom door. He doesn’t expect Natasha to come check on him, she never did, and it’s highly unlikely she’s going to come and invite him to go watch a movie or anything. But he decides he can’t take too many chances. He already has F.R.I.D.A.Y. on alert in case someone does come near his bedroom door but unless the world starts to end, he really doesn’t expect any visitors. 

  
The sky outside finally black, the ground lights on, he finally taps the reactor in his chest and activates Mark L, the metal like liquid as it forms around his body. 

  
As soon as his mask is down, he instructs the AI to connect to his private server before activating the reflective panels and projectors. Once he’s sure everything is up and running, checking to make sure he’s basically invisible in the mirror, he goes to the window and quietly slides it open and awkwardly climbs out. He hadn’t considered that part, trying to move through a small space in the suit but he manages it as quietly as possible before closing the window again. He gets no warnings on screen and he doesn’t hear any alarms or anything going off at the window being opened and he breathes out in relief. He quickly scans around again for any heat signatures and finds none, though through the walls he can see Natasha in her room on her bed, clearly watching TV. 

  
Not wanting to waste time or risk getting caught he quickly fires up the suit and takes off into the air, eyes on the screen watching for any activity or warnings or signs that he had been spotted and sees nothing. He stays low enough to avoid any potential radar scanning the sky for flying objects and cruises between buildings, staying to shadows as much as possible. It feels like it takes forever to get to the motel, when it’s actually only 20 minutes. Once there, he heads to a blackened part of the parking lot and lands silently. Tapping the reactor again, Mark L slides away smoothly and he quickly pulls his hoodie up over his head to disguise himself a little. He keeps the glasses on, telling them to darken as he hurries across the parking lot to the office. 

  
The clerk inside is a young man not much older than Peter, face full of acne and a head covered in red curly hair that is more a halo around his head. He doesn’t acknowledge Tony much, eyes glued to the video game he is playing on the screen while his teeth snap the gum in his mouth. 

  
“Can I help you?” He asks in a deadpan voice, still staring at the screen and Tony quickly pulls out a few hundreds and puts them on the counter. The kid glances at them once before doing a double take, eyes going wide. 

  
“I need a room, off the books, now,” Tony says quietly, hoping the kid doesn’t recognize his voice. 

  
“Uh sure, sir, just let me grab you a key,” he hurries out, dropping the remote controller and standing up so fast his chair topples over. He manages to snatch the money off the counter though before turning to a cork board covered in keys. 

  
“One in the far end please, away from everyone else,” Tony requests and the kid glances at him once and nods and then unhooks a key from the bottom corner of the board. He turns and thrusts it at Tony, eyes still wide.

  
“Uh, how long you need it?” He asks, clearly hoping to maybe get more money if it’s longer than a few hours.

  
“Just tonight, I’ll drop the key through the box when I’m done,” Tony replies before grabbing the key and hurrying out the door. He glances at the number and then rushes down the sidewalk towards the furthest corner of the L shaped building. 

  
He’s almost reached it when F.R.I.D.A.Y. informs him that Peter has the mask on.

  
“Tony? Are you there?” He asks quickly, sounding a bit harried.

  
“Yup, babe, just got here, got a room, 107, it’s the furthest from the office,” Tony tells him. “Everything ok?”

“Yeah, yeah, fine, just May insisted on following me in to get pictures of Ned and I together, which was awkward as fuck since we still aren’t on great terms and he was there with Betty,” Peter grumbles out. “Took forever to get her to leave and then I had to find a way to get away from Ned, who thought I was staying. But I’m on the roof now, just about to take off towards you.” His voice brightens at the end and Tony hears the swoosh and his breathing pick up as he starts picking his way across buildings towards him. It makes his heart pound in his chest with joy and anticipation.

  
He gets to the room and quickly slips inside, turning the lights on and then closing the blinds securely. He leaves the door unlocked for Peter and unzips his hoodie and drops it on the back of a chair, depositing the lube on the side table beside the bed. The room isn’t pretty, it’s a basic cheap motel with an old thin 80’s floral coverlet on the bed and wood paneling everywhere, but it’s still better than nothing. There’s a flat screen on the wall and the bathroom actually looks pretty clean, so all things considered, it wasn’t that bad. 

  
“Almost there,” Peter informs him, excitement in his voice and Tony smiles as he toes his shoes off, body quivering with his own excitement. 

  
“Ok babe, be careful,” he says gently while turning and staring at the door in anticipation, hands wringing in front of him. It was all well and good to know they would fuck tonight and God knows the sex is fucking amazing and he can’t wait to get inside of Peter again. But tonight was so much more, he missed just being in Peter’s presence, of being able to touch him, taste him, feel him close, hear his voice, his laugh, the way his eyes twinkled when he talked about something he loved. He ached for it, dreamt of it and thought he would lose his mind if he didn’t get it soon. He needed Peter like he needed air. 

  
When he hears the quiet thump of him landing on the roof, Tony almost wants to cry in relief. Seconds later the door opens and Peter slips in, sliding the mask off at the same time as he drops his backpack on the floor, dark eyes searching the room wildly for Tony. He doesn’t have to search long, within seconds Tony has him pressed back against the door and his mouth on Peter’s, kissing him with abandon, hungrily, almost painfully because he needed Peter’s lips so badly it hurt. Peter returns it with just as much enthusiasm, hands in Tony’s hair almost immediately, holding him in place with a grip that potentially will pull some of it out. 

  
Bodies pressed together full length, they push into each other, undulating and rocking, feeling every curve and sharp line ride together as they devour each other. Peter hums into Tony’s mouth, earning him a groan and Tony’s hands land on Peter’s ass, gripping and squeezing, getting a quiet laugh. 

  
“Shut up, I have missed this ass more than anything,” Tony breaks the kiss to say, though their lips are still mostly touching, swollen and wet. 

  
“Oh, so it’s really just my ass you miss and not me,” Peter retorts, one brow quirking up and Tony tries to give him a look but just ends up laughing, he’s too happy to do much else. It proves contagious because Peter starts to giggle as well before starting to full on laugh. It doesn’t last too long, just enough to shake out the jitters they were both feeling and they come together again. 

  
This time when Tony’s hands go across Peter’s ass, it’s to grab his thighs to pick up him and carry him over to the bed, collapsing on top of him on it, their hips immediately moving as they both seek friction. Tony had fully prepared for this. There was no taking it slow the first time, they wouldn’t last. Instead he turns his focus to getting them both naked, as quickly as possible. He’s glad that Peter is very much on board, immediately wriggling out of the suit as soon as Tony presses the spider to get it to release. He’s in the tight black briefs that Tony thinks should be framed again and he almost wants to just worship Peter in them, but his cock has other ideas and in the end he just sits back and pulls them off of Peter quickly, with little grace, getting a short breathy laugh from the younger man. 

  
Peter follows him in sitting up and starts yanking at Tony’s belt, almost ripping it open before Tony quickly stands and undoes his fly and shoves his pants down and off. He hadn’t bothered with underwear, didn’t see the point and he’s about to pull the t-shirt off when he notices Peter looking at it with a grin on his face.

  
“You wore it,” he says with a laugh.

  
“Yup, I need you to wear it so it smells like you again,” Tony requests, pulling it over his head and tossing it at Peter who laughs as it lands on his face. 

  
“That seems unfair, I need something of yours that smells like you,” Peter whines, picking up the shirt and smelling it. “This smells like you now, why don’t I give you the shirt I had on under my dress shirt, it’s in my backpack,” he bargains and Tony considers it and then nods. They could keep doing this each time they got together he figures. 

  
“Deal,” he agrees, nodding again before all but diving on top of Peter, earning him a loud squeal of laughter that is rapidly silenced by Tony’s mouth. 

  
Moment of frivolity done, they return to the main subject at hand and in minutes are both panting messes of arousal, bodies coated in a fine sheen of sweat as Peter’s legs wrap around Tony’s thighs, hips rutting as their cocks slide together. 

  
“Tony, oh my God, I need you so badly,” Peter breathes out, face flushed, eyes black and hair plastered to his forehead. 

  
Not wanting to deny his lover, Tony quickly snags the lube he’d put on the side table and pours some into his hand, lifting his hips enough to coat himself and reposition further down to press the head of his cock at Peter’s entrance. Peter’s legs fall open at the sensation, keening as Tony starts to push in and it takes every part of Tony’s restraint not to just come immediately. Peter is tight, deliciously so, he hadn’t prepped him, didn’t really need to now, but it still takes him a minute to adjust and Tony just relishes the feeling of being inside him again as he bottoms out. He presses his forehead against Peter’s, sharing his air as they pant loudly. 

  
“Fuck I missed this, I needed this, needed you,” Tony mutters out, feeling like he’d just come home from a really long vacation and everything just feels so perfect and right, and his. 

  
Peter’s tongue darts out, flicking up Tony’s lips playfully before he grins at the older man and Tony responds with sudden quick, short thrusts. It knocks the grin off of Peter’s face, replacing it with arousal as Peter’s hand laces into Tony’s hair and he closes the gap to kiss him hard. 

  
Tony starts pumping his hips harder, desperate now for release, to feel Peter lose control around him and the bed creaks beneath them, headboard hitting the wall lewdly as Peter breaks the kiss to throw his head back, crying out with each hard thrust into him, hand between them stroking himself rapidly.

  
“TONY, fuck, fuck, fuck, shit, ah,” he chants, voice breaking, high pitched at times before he screams Tony’s name and his back arches up off the bed as he climaxes, painting their stomachs while he clamps down around Tony’s cock, tumbling the older man over the edge as well. Tony can’t even scream or yell or make a sound it’s so intense, his body rigid as his orgasm courses through him. He can’t even breathe for a few moments, mouth open wide, forehead on Peter’s collarbone. 

  
They come down from it piece by piece, each limb going limp one after the other until they are just a mess of skin and sweat and arms and legs, both breathing hard like they had just run a marathon. Tony’s cheek presses against Peter’s chest, his mouth still open and unbecoming as he listens to Peter’s heart pounding and he tries to catch his breath. He figures if he had died in that moment, it was probably the best way ever to go. 

  
“Holy shit,” Peter breathes out a short while later, hand trying to come up to touch Tony but he finds he’s still too weak. 

  
“Uh huh,” Tony responds in a grunt, closing his eyes to just soak in this moment in its entirety. He wanted to remember this for all of eternity. How Peter felt against him, his velvety skin slick with sweat, body tight and hot around him still, heart beating under Tony’s ear, breathing rapid and shaky. 

  
Even better, the night had only just begun. Though they both would need some recovery time before round 2. 

  
When Tony finally finds a tiny shred of energy, he slides off of Peter ungracefully, pulling out at the same time and Peter winces slightly at the feeling of Tony’s come starting to drip out of him. Feeling a little bad for him, but also knowing that Peter still would want Tony to bareback him no matter what, he finds his legs, wobbly as they are and stumbles into the bathroom to retrieve a couple of wet washcloths and a towel. He returns to the bed and helps clean Peter up, leading to some giggling as he gets a few ticklish spots for fun before cleaning himself up and flopping onto the bed next to Peter on his side. 

  
Peter follows suit and rolls towards Tony, bodies only a few inches apart and Tony studies him, takes in any minute change that could have occurred since he saw Peter last. The younger man smiles softly at him, dark eyes scanning Tony’s face until Tony’s hand comes up to gently trace down Peter’s jaw, earning him a bigger smile. He takes his time with his fingers though, touch feather soft as he goes across Peter’s chin. His thumb slides across Peter’s bottom lip and then his top one, getting him a grin before Peter kisses and then bites down on the digit, making Tony laugh once. He gets his thumb back though and his fingers trail across Peter’s brow, following the line of the swoop on his left one, each touch committed to memory. Peter’s eyes never leave his face, open and wide and earnest and full of adoration and Tony feels almost unworthy of it. 

  
The moment lasts longer than he intended but it’s soothing, replenishing for both of them. When he’s done mapping Peter’s face with his fingers, he breaks the seriousness of it by using his index finger to boop the end of the younger man’s nose, making him laugh sharply. 

  
“God I missed you,” Tony breathes out, words releasing from him like a weight that had been holding him down. 

  
“I missed you too,” Peter responds, smiling quickly though his eyes bely how difficult the last few months had been for him. Tony can see it now, his face a bit thinner, hair a bit longer, body a bit leaner. Just as it had taken a toll on Tony, it had taken one on Peter as well. “How often do you think we can come here? Do this?” He asks carefully, face nervous. 

  
“I don’t know,” Tony responds honestly. “But at least we can now, so long as we both make it home alright tonight and don’t get caught.”

  
“What happens if we do?” Peter asks quickly, eyes widening in fear. “Will you just go?” He asks in a more pained voice and Tony winces. He hates how he had so seriously considered just leaving Peter. How stupid he was to think that was even a possibility for him. Leaving Peter would kill him.

  
“No, no Pete, no, I promise,” Tony assures him, hand on the younger man’s cheek and eyes meeting the dark ones in front of him to make sure he knew Tony was telling him the truth. “I could never leave you, it was an idiotic idea. If I get caught, I’ll do my best to get away from them and come to you and we will figure it out from there, ok?”

  
Peter relaxes under his hand and nods, looking mollified.

  
“We could both just go to… where was it again?”

  
“The Maldives, it’s nice there, but let’s try not to worry about that and enjoy this instead,” Tony says gently. He frankly didn’t want to think about the possibilities, it was much more preferable for him to bury his head in the sand, as dangerous as that was considering the game he was playing. 

  
“Yeah true, and I mean, look at what you managed to do just this week, I’m sure they will never figure it out,” Peter agrees and Tony can’t help but think that’s a bit of a famous last words kind of statement but he doesn’t say that. 

  
“Anyway, how is prom night treating you so far?” He asks with a smirk and Peter laughs and shakes his head once, throwing his arm over Tony’s waist to press a hand on his back. 

  
“Pretty good so far,” Peter says evenly, nodding once. “I mean, I don't think I’m the only one getting laid tonight, but I doubt it’s as good for them as it is for me, so there’s that.”

  
“Oh yeah, definitely, we clearly are experts at this, they are just going to be clumsy and awkward and messy, it’s unfortunate really, but nothing we can do about it,” Tony replies, feigning concern for the poor gangly teenagers back at Peter’s school. He really didn’t fit in with them at all, Tony muses, Peter was the opposite of gangly and was much more mature and confident. 

  
“I’m not about to start holding lectures on the subject,” Peter laughs and Tony joins in, mentally picturing that, the bewildered faces they would have staring back at them. 

  
“No, I don’t think that’s going on the curriculum any time soon,” Tony agrees, fingers trailing down Peter’s shoulder, his skin glowing softly in the dim light from the lamp. 

  
“Their loss,” Peter says quietly, the conversation breaking off as Tony starts following his fingers down Peter’s body with his lips. 

  
He wants to press his mouth everywhere, absorb every square inch, claim it as his own. He starts with Peter’s shoulder, down his bicep and inside his elbow, maneuvering his arm to get all the way down to his hand where he presses a kiss to each finger. Peter watches him, eyes black and blown again, mouth slack as he drinks in the sensations. Tony moves his way back up his arm, brushing his beard across the sensitive skin inside his wrist as he moves towards his collarbone. As he goes across it, Peter slowly rolls on to his back at Tony’s urging, breathing picking up speed as Tony worships his neck, kissing, biting gently and sucking his way across it, earning him soft gasps and a few quiet cries. He gives each ear special attention, teeth dragging down them before he returns to Peter’s face, kissing each eye lid, each brow, between them, his nose and chin. He only presses a few kisses to his lips before he returns to his collarbone, working methodically back and forth across his chest, Peter’s nipples being pulled up into nubs with his lips and teeth. Peter keens above him as he moves, hand landing on the back of Tony’s head, not gripping or guiding, but resting there, keeping him close. As he moves lower, across Peter’s stomach, his fingers trail down his ribs, making him jump slightly as his body responds to the ticklish sensation and Tony smirks but doesn’t push it, now wasn’t the time for that. 

  
Tony’s tongue presses into Peter’s belly button before he kisses around it and then down into the course hair lining his abdomen down to his dick. He’s hard again and Tony envies his age, giving him the ability to get it back up again so quickly, but he doesn’t dwell on that, instead decides that it’s for the best so he can make this all about Peter for now. 

  
Much to Peter’s clear disappointment, Tony doesn’t touch his dick, not yet at least. Instead he licks and kisses his way down the crease in his hip and then down his thigh, knee, calf and ankle, kissing each toe gets him a giggle before he brushes his beard over the bottom of Peter’s foot, making the giggle turn into a sharp squeal, his foot trying to jerk away. Tony holds his ankle, sitting back on his haunches while he waits for Peter to calm down before gently placing it on the bed and retrieving his other foot to repeat the process only going back up his leg this time. 

  
Once he reaches his hip again, he gently pushes Peter’s legs open and lowers himself down as much as he can while lifting Peter to get between them, sucking on each of his balls and running his tongue up the sensitive skin beneath them. Peter moans loudly, body shuddering at the feeling and legs opening wider giving Tony more access. Exactly what he wanted. He trails his tongue around Peter’s hole once, getting a sharp gasp and Peter’s body tenses for a moment before relaxing again. Tony waits and then does it again, this time getting a vibrating cry out of Peter’s throat, which only gets louder each time he does it, a few oh fuck’s sliding out when he breathes. 

  
Peter’s balances himself more on one hand, the other reaching down to stroke himself and Tony can’t have that, he wants to be the only one touching him right now and he will get Peter off when he’s ready to. 

  
“Hey, no,” he says sternly and Peter gives him a wounded look but pulls his hand away obediently. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” Tony assures him and Peter relaxes and nods, teeth worrying his bottom lip. 

  
Tony returns his attention to Peter’s hole, pressing more firmly with his tongue, brushing across it at times and others pushing in just slightly. When, and only when, Peter is a writhing mess, does he lower the younger man’s hips and slide his lips down his cock, deep throating him quickly and sucking hard while one finger slides inside of him. 

  
“SHIIIIIITTTTT,” Peter screams out, voice high and breaking as his hips jerk, trying to press up and Tony holds them down so he can pull off slightly but then he lets go and lets Peter start fucking his mouth, sucking when he can while the younger man also fucks himself on Tony’s finger. 

  
“Oh shit, oh fuck, oh my God Tony,” Peter rambles out, hands gripping the top of the headboard to give himself leverage, eyes watching as much as possible as his hips move quickly. Tony has to grab him with his free hand once or twice to get him to slow down a little, be more careful and Peter obeys each time as best he can, but when he gets closer, he can barely control himself. “Tony, fuck fuck, I’m gonna come, I’m coming, I’m coming,” he chants out and Tony holds his hip and prepares for it, mouth filling a moment later and he works Peter through it. 

  
He suspects his jaw is going to be damn sore tomorrow after that, but it’s absolutely worth it to see Peter wrecked on the tacky motel bed. He pulls his mouth off and removes his finger to smirk up at the younger man, who doesn’t even notice but as soon as Tony starts crawling up the bed to kiss him he gets pulled in, Peter’s legs opening wide to let him in, mouth on his hungrily as soon as he’s within reach. 

  
They make out sloppily for a long while, hands all over each other like the teenagers back at prom but they don’t care, just fall into it. 

  
When they finally slow down a little, breathing loud in the room, bodies sweaty again and both in need of a short break, Tony gets up and grabs the complimentary bottles of water left in the room and brings them back to the bed, handing one to Peter before remembering the other stuff he brought with him. 

  
“Hey, where’s your mask, I need to make some modifications,” he asks quickly, eyes scanning around the room for it and Peter looks at him confused, swallowing the mouthful of water he had just taken before sliding off the bed himself and picking it up off the floor where it had landed next to his backpack. 

  
“What are you gonna do? Is this for that new web function you were talking about?” He asks as he hands it over and plops back down on the bed. Tony snags his hoodie and pulls the new pieces out, turning Peter’s mask inside out so he can connect and place the delicate wires.

  
“Nope, it’s a surprise for you, just give me a second, I’ll make sure it’s working and then you can check it out,” Tony responds, connecting the last wire to the minuscule receiver and bringing the mask up to turn it on so he could check the connection and make sure it was all working. 

  
“Karen connect Peter to the Boudoir,” he instructs the in-suit AI, smirking at his own nickname for the camera in his bedroom.

  
“Yes Mr. Stark,” she responds, the view of the motel room through the eye pieces disappearing, being replaced immediately with the view of Tony’s bedroom, bed a mess and stuff everywhere from his thrashing around to find the right thing to wear. He kind of wishes he’d cleaned up a little, but too late now. 

  
“Ok, it’s working, your turn,” Tony says, pulling it away from his face and handing it over to Peter who looks at him curiously but slides the mask on anyway, gasping quietly and then laughing loudly. 

  
“Fair is fair, now you can see me, since it was unfair before that I could only see you, well you through your eyes, which is something else I’ve fixed. The mask will stay turned on unless you tell it to turn off, so remember that,” Tony tells him. He wanted to be able to have face to face conversations, as face to face as they could get, so making the mask remain operational and the camera in his bedroom were his solution to that problem. 

  
“Seriously? That’s awesome,” Peter exclaims, pulling the mask back off and staring wide eyed at Tony. “Had to put the camera in your bedroom did you?” Peter asks with a smirk.

  
“Like I said, fair is fair and besides, there really is nowhere else I could put it,” he points out. 

  
“Yeah true,” Peter agrees, looking down at the mask again and then back up to Tony. “So how do you see me? The glasses?” He asks, eyes flicking over to where they sat on the dresser and back to Tony. 

  
“Yup, here, look,” Tony answers, quickly standing and retrieving them, turning them on and instructing them to connect to Peter’s suit, giving him a view up Peter’s chin and nose as the mask sat on his lap, making Tony laugh before he hands them over. 

  
Peter eagerly puts them on and then laughs himself at the view before picking the mask up and pointing it at Tony and then around the room, testing it thoroughly. 

  
“This is awesome Tony, good thinking,” he says happily as he takes the glasses off and hands them back to Tony. “Thank you.”

  
“You’re welcome, it’s for me too though you know,” Tony laughs. “We both benefit from this.”

  
“True,” Peter agrees with a soft smile before he rocks forward onto his hands on the bed to close the gap and kiss Tony. 

  
Tony pushes the mask and the glasses away to a safer location, the floor, before moving in to Peter, kissing him hard while pushing him onto his back on the bed and settling between his legs, rutting slowly as his body comes back to life, Peter’s responding beneath him. 

  
It’s amazing how quickly they can move from one benign task to this, but it was how their relationship tended to be and Tony loved it, every last bit of it.

  
They move slowly, a steady crawling rhythm as they savor the time they had stretching ahead of them. Tongues sliding together as their hips rock in harmony, Peter’s hands in Tony’s hair, Tony’s hands caressing down Peter’s sides, up his thighs, squeezing his ass. 

  
Tony doesn’t know how much time passes, doesn’t care, but he about squeals when Peter suddenly flips them, straddling Tony and grinding down, Tony’s cock sliding into the cleft of his ass and they both moan loudly into each other’s mouths. Peter keeps grinding for a few minutes, Tony gripping his ass as he does, feeling the muscle move, his thighs tight around him. 

  
Then Peter sits up suddenly, hands on either side of Tony’s shoulders as he looks down at the older man, clearly his mind is considering something before he bounds off the bed suddenly, heading to his backpack where he starts rifling around before returning to the bed. Tony watches the entire exercise with wide bewildered eyes, an expression that doesn’t change when Peter holds up his red tie that he had worn to prom. 

  
“Can I tie your arms to the headboard?” Peter asks unsurely, bottom lip going between his teeth again as he waits for Tony’s response. 

  
Tony’s face blanks for a second in surprise, brows flickering once before he tilts his head in thought and then nods. 

  
“Yeah, I’m down for that,” he agrees, lifting his arms and crossing his wrists and Peter grins at him, quickly looping the tie around them and then securing them to the headboard. The knot is pretty loose and Tony suspects Peter did that intentionally, but it’s still holding them there, which is enough. 

  
Satisfied, Peter smirks down at him before leaning down to kiss him hard, getting back into position to start grinding again and Tony moans loudly, deeply aroused at being restrained, at Peter’s mercy. 

  
Peter takes the opportunity to do to Tony what the older man had done to him earlier and starts working across every square inch of skin with his mouth. Up his arms where he kisses just below the tie and then back down again to his neck, collarbone and chest. He presses kisses around the reactor before stopping and looking down at it, fingers tracing the metal rim. 

  
“Can I ask you something?” He says carefully, eyes meeting Tony’s.

  
“Sure, of course,” Tony replies, already sensing the question coming. 

  
“You had the shrapnel removed right? Why do you still have this in your chest?” Peter asks and Tony’s instincts are proven right. Not the first time someone has questioned him on that.

  
“Well, for one, I have a pretty big ass hole in my chest now, right through my ribcage and chest plate to my lungs and heart, not easy to just stitch together or fill in,” Tony replies and Peter nods understandingly. “But, even though modern medicine could probably correct that, my suits are all responsive to sensors and implants in my body, devices that run off of this power source like my suits do, and that’s also where my nano suit is built into. It’s easier than having separate power sources in each suit, and it gives me the ability to have a faster response time in them.” Tony explains and Peter nods again, getting it completely. 

  
“Ok, that makes sense, I kinda figured that, but I honestly wasn’t sure but I also wasn’t sure you’d be ok with me asking either,” he admits, looking a bit sheepish.

  
“Pete, you can ask me anything, I told you that,” Tony tells him gently and Peter smiles at him, pressing in to kiss him once before nodding one final time and returning to the task at hand. 

  
He continues his path down Tony’s body and Tony closes his eyes to amp up his sense of touch, feeling every press of Peter’s soft lips, his tongue and sometimes his teeth as he works his way down and back up again. He doesn’t rim Tony, and the older man isn’t surprised, that’s something that also takes time and a certain comfort level, but he does suck him pretty impressively for a few moments before crawling across the bed to retrieve the lube. 

  
Kneeling on either side of Tony’s legs, he takes his time slicking Tony’s cock up, hands thorough, getting him some rather loud noises from the top of the bed where Tony’s eyes are more tightly closed now as he absorbs the sensation. 

  
When he’s satisfied, Peter moves to straddle Tony and then starts to sit down on his cock slowly, holding him in position as he does so. Tony finally opens his eyes to watch as he slides into Peter, the younger man’s face tense at times at being stretched in a slightly newer way but he also looks blissful, happy as he’s filled and he settles comfortably in Tony’s lap when he’s all the way in. 

  
Tony wants so badly to push up with his hips, to fuck into Peter hard and fast, his body already at the edge from just watching and feeling him around him but he doesn’t move, knows that Peter is in the driver’s seat right now, he was controlling it this time and Tony didn’t want to interrupt that. 

  
Peter starts moving slowly, hands on either side of Tony’s ribs as he leans forward to start lifting his hips slightly and then sliding back down, hips rocking each time and he moans softly. 

  
“Fuck Tony,” he sighs out, eyes still closed as he focuses on how it feels and Tony lets out a shuddering breath. The sound catches Peter’s attention and his eyes open and look down at Tony, the way he’s writhing slightly, clearly getting desperate to be fucked and he smirks. “Do you want me to go faster?” He asks cheekily and Tony will feel embarrassed later about how eagerly he nods, getting him a quiet laugh in response. 

  
Clearly reveling in his power position, Peter keeps moving slowly for a moment longer before sliding his hands down to balance on the bed and get a better angle as he starts riding Tony hard and fast. The room fills with the lewd sound of skin slapping skin, the wet slick of Tony sliding in and out of Peter and both of them moaning and crying out like porn stars. 

  
As he gets closer, Tony can’t help but bend his knees slightly, bracing his heels on the bed and snapping his hips up, fucking into Peter as hard as Peter is fucking down onto him, making Peter cry out even louder, shouting Tony’s name with each thrust. 

  
Tony comes first, pushing up and in as deep as he can as he fills Peter, trembling and jolting with each pulse and he can feel Peter’s eyes on his face, watching it happen. Peter waits until he stops pushing up, body relaxing back down on the bed before he starts riding again, hand wrapping around himself and stroking quickly before he too goes over the edge, coming on Tony’s stomach and gripping his dick hard. This time Tony gets to watch, the way Peter’s face contorts, mouth open wide as he cries out, eyes screwed tightly closed. He watches as Peter’s cock spurts onto him, the way his hand twists and pulls, getting every last drop out and it’s mesmerizing. If this is the road to hell, Tony is more than happy to put more gas in the tank and keep going because damn it’s worth it. 

  
“Shit,” Peter groans out ineloquently as he comes down from his orgasm high, Tony’s softening dick still nestled inside of him, though Tony can feel his own come leaking out and down his balls and starts to long for the washcloth, as much as he’s enjoying this moment. 

  
Peter doesn’t seem to notice, instead leaning in to kiss Tony for a long moment, a small smile on his lips. When he finally does raise his head he seems to notice suddenly that Tony’s arms are still secured and he quickly undoes the tie and releases them, giving Tony some relief as the blood returns to his hands. 

  
“That was amazing,” Peter says quietly and Tony smiles back at him, agreeing wholeheartedly. He adjusts his hips slightly, pulling out and Peter winces as he feels the mess leaking out. “But I think we need to clean up,” he adds and Tony nods quickly. 

  
Peter seems to decide the washcloths aren't enough this time and pulls Tony off of the bed with him and into the bathroom and shower. They manage to get clean between intermittent kissing and fooling around, flicking water and soap at each other before drying off and stumbling back out to the bed. Tony decides the coverlet has had enough and yanks it off, revealing dingy looking pale grey sheets that they lie on top of, Peter on his back and Tony half on him so he can keep touching and kissing whenever he wants. Neither planned on sleeping tonight and they don’t, instead they talk, kiss and at times just stay quiet, silently taking each other in with their eyes. Neither one of them wants to look at the clock, but they know time is passing, faster than they want it to and Tony can feel it like a brick pressing on his chest. He wishes he could stop time, keep them here, in this moment, this night, forever but he’s not a wizard, and no matter how smart he is, he can’t build the technology to do it. Not yet anyway. 

  
“What time is it?” Peter finally gives in and asks a while later, Tony pressing kisses to his chest before he reluctantly glances up at the alarm clock that might as well be considered an antique. 

  
“3:30,” he replies, the brick growing heavier. He knew realistically they couldn’t stay there past 5:00, or he risked dawn coming before he made it back to the compound. Not only that, Peter needed to get home or his aunt might come looking for him. 

  
“We are gonna do this again right?” Peter asks, eyes wide and concerned as they search Tony’s face.

  
“Yes, absolutely baby, there’s no question for me,” Tony replies firmly and Peter relaxes a bit. “And, at least now we can see each other in between, and talk more often,” he adds, reminding both of them really because he was feeling just as melancholy as Peter at that moment, worried that somehow they would never get this chance again. 

  
“Yeah true, that’s good, I’m glad you did that,” Peter reiterates and Tony smiles and kisses him. He intends for it to just be a peck but it quickly becomes more as they both start grabbing and clinging on desperately, wanting to get as much out of the time they had left before it was over.

  
Tony slides between Peter’s legs, getting caged in immediately by them as they both press in to feel their bodies against the others. 

  
It’s rough, messy and Tony suspects they will both have bruises but neither seems to care as they hungrily clutch at each other, kissing hard and rutting with abandon.

When it gets to be too much, Peter pushes at Tony, moving onto his hands and knees as Tony quickly reaches for the lube and preps himself before sliding in almost as soon as Peter is in position, making both of them yell with need. Tony’s hips start snapping, fucking into Peter hard and fast and Peter pulls himself up to hang on to the headboard as he cries out with each movement, eyes screwed tightly closed and lashes wet. They don’t last long at this pace, Peter coming first, hand barely getting to his cock to stroke it a few times before he climaxes and Tony follows him over the edge, gripping Peter’s shoulder to push in as hard as he can, as far as he can. 

  
It’s quiet for a few minutes when they are done, separating carefully and collapsing down onto the bed on their sides facing each other. When Tony sees Peter’s bottom lip start quivering he pulls the younger man in and holds onto him tightly, a few tears of his own sliding out and into Peter’s soft hair as the younger man clings on to him, sniffling and shaking. No matter how many times Tony reassured them both that they would be together again, do this again, it was still hard to truly believe because things were still so unsure, so dangerous and difficult for them. 

  
A part of him wants them to just leave together now, go to the Maldives, so they never have to say goodbye again, but the old reasons why that’s a bad idea come back. No matter Peter’s relationship with his aunt right now, he still couldn’t take him away from her and there was no way in hell Tony would leave without Peter so they were stuck it seemed. 

  
“It’s ok baby,” Tony says softly to Peter’s quiet sobs, stroking his hair and back, trying to comfort him though he fully felt the same as Peter did. 

  
“I know, I’m being ridiculous, but I just hate being away from you, not knowing when or even if I’ll see you again, every day is just the same and so long and it’s so hard and I miss you so much,” Peter whimpers and Tony kisses the top of his head. 

  
“I know, trust me I know, it’s the same for me, but we need to think positive and we have more than we did a few weeks ago,” Tony tries to reassure him, well both of them really. “I get it though, I do, it scares me to leave you any time but it’s worse now.”

  
Peter sniffles again and takes a deep breath, tilting his head up to look at Tony with watery red eyes. 

  
“We can do this, we just have to keep remembering that my birthday is coming, each day going forward is one day closer and if we could figure out and pull this off, then I’m sure we can figure something out for then, even if I have to storm the compound and abduct you myself,” Peter says firmly and Tony laughs once. 

  
“I would like to see that, just for the fun of it,” he quips and Peter snorts and laughs and then looks at him seriously.

  
“Don’t think I won’t,” he declares and Tony laughs again.

  
“You’re right though, we are already figuring stuff out, look at us right now, we've got this,” he says confidently and Peter smiles at him, kissing him quickly.

  
“Yup we do,” Peter agrees. “Let’s get cleaned up and hang out as long as we can. I’m not sure I’m gonna be able to sit down tomorrow,” he adds with a laugh.

  
Feeling better, they head back to the shower so that Peter won’t have to deal with the mess in his suit on the way home and then they sit on the bed, laughing and talking and doing their best not to acknowledge the clock while also watching it. They never stop touching the entire time, taking the opportunity they have to be physically close at its fullest. 

  
When 4:45 rolls around they go quiet again, melancholy as they get dressed, swapping t-shirts and kissing intermittently while they get ready to leave. 

  
“At least I’ll be able to see that you got home alright,” Peter says as he picks up the mask, the suit already on and backpack on his shoulders. 

  
“Me too,” Tony points out as he pops the glasses on and smirks at Peter. 

  
“We should really consider some burner phones,” Peter laughs. “Might be easier though I like being able to see you.”

  
“I thought of that,” Tony admits. “But phones, even burners, are so easy to trace now that I just didn’t trust them. The mask and glasses are less suspicious and I can monitor things better this way.”

  
“Yeah true,” Peter agrees, glancing at the clock once more, 4:59 looking back at them. “Um, so you gonna just drop off the key before suiting up?”

“Yeah, said I’d drop it through the box, you should go out first though, get out of sight and start heading home,” Tony replies, turning the last light off after checking to make sure they have everything before finding himself in a tight hug, Peter’s lips against his brutally. He returns the kiss with the same force, holding on just as tightly and never wanting to let go. But they have to, they don’t have a choice.

  
“I love you,” Tony whispers when they finally separate slightly. “More than anything in this world.”

  
Peter sniffles quietly and nods once. 

  
“I love you too, always will,” Peter replies and kisses Tony again, once more before they finally let go and Peter slips through the door and disappears upward. Tony hears his feet land on the roof, the same way he’d arrived and he smiles softly to himself before pulling his hood up and instructing his AI to darken the glasses even though it was dark outside. 

  
He locks the door behind himself and hurries along the sidewalk to the office, shoving the key through the slot and then heading to the hidden dark part of the parking lot to suit up. He can feel Peter watching him, knows he’s still on the roof and he glances his way before tapping the reactor in his chest, feeling the metal encase his body. Just before he takes off he sees the slight movement as Peter throws a web to the next building and launches himself, heading home and Tony initiates the cloaking and projectors and takes off himself, staying low to the ground again the entire way. As much as he wants to watch Peter’s movements, he can’t, he needs to pay attention to his own driving, but he still asks F.R.I.D.A.Y. to put the view in a lower corner of the screen. Peter’s travel time is shorter than Tony’s and he makes it easily, slipping in his window to his darkened room where he quickly removes most of the suit except the mask and throws his pajamas on in the dark before slipping into bed. 

  
He’s clearly watching the camera, waiting to see Tony get home himself and Tony goes as fast as he can. When he gets to the compound it’s dark and quiet. He still scans for heat signatures but aside from the night security at the front gate and doors and Natasha in her bed he sees nothing. He lands as softly as he can beside his window and carefully slides it open and slips in before closing it again. 

  
“You made it,” Peter whispers quietly in his ear and Tony realizes he still has the glasses on and can hear him, they could have been talking this entire time and he laughs to himself. 

  
“Yeah I did, so did you, it’s all good, it worked,” Tony replies, tapping the reactor to get Mark L to disappear and he breathes out in relief. It had worked, they had gotten away with it, meaning they could probably get away with it again, and again. The thought makes Tony smile broadly and he hears Peter laugh quietly in his ear.

  
“What are you grinning about?” He whispers. 

  
“We did it Pete, it worked, we got this,” he responds and he hears Peter smile.

  
“Yes!” Peter cheers quietly. “Shit, I gotta be careful I don’t wanna wake May.”

  
“Yeah, let’s not ruin everything by getting caught now, you should get some sleep anyway,” Tony points out. It was easier to stop talking now, they had confidence in their chances to carry on. 

  
“You need to sleep too,” Peter points out accusingly and Tony laughs.

  
“I plan to, trust me, someone wore me out tonight,” Tony retorts and Peter giggles.

  
“I make no promises not to do it again either,” he replies.

  
“Good,” Tony quips and they both laugh. “Ok baby, I love you, I’ll talk to you tomorrow, get some sleep, don’t forget to tell the mask to turn off ok? We don’t want your aunt to accidentally hear Karen trying to talk to you or something,” Tony warns, though it’s highly unlikely, but he was a touch paranoid still.

  
“Yeah for sure, no problem,” Peter replies. “I love you too, talk to you tomorrow.”

  
With that he instructs the AI to shut the mask down and Tony takes the glasses off and rubs his face, smiling behind his hand. He had Peter back, it was glorious. 

  
He’s glad Peter isn’t watching anymore when he does a little happy dance across the room to the bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for bed. Peter would never let him live that down. 


	17. Chapter 17

When Tony wakes up the next morning, the sense of being watched confuses him for a few seconds before he fully comes to consciousness and remembers. He glances up at the camera as he rolls over onto his back in bed, Peter’s t-shirt rucked up on his stomach. Smirking, he grabs the glasses from his bedside table and pops them on and connects, staring through Peter’s eyes immediately though he knows Peter has a different view. He appears to be sitting in his bedroom on his bed, his denim covered leg is visible so he’s been awake for a bit and he giggles as he watches Tony put the glasses on. 

  
“Good morning sunshine,” Tony says with a gravelly sleep covered voice. “You’re up early.”

  
“Tony, it’s 2 in the afternoon,” Peter retorts, laughing. “You were snoring.”

  
At that comment Tony turns and glares at the camera, making Peter laugh harder. 

  
“It’s only because I was dead tired,” he replies hotly, kicking the blankets off and heading to the bathroom, stopping only long enough to moon Peter who barks out a loud laugh. “How was your night? Did you sleep well?” Tony asks after he’s closed the door, having a piss before getting washed for the day. 

  
“Uh, not good actually, turns out I didn’t need to whisper last night when I got here, May was out looking for me, I guess she got concerned when I didn’t come home and had tried calling me but I left my phone here, because I was worried about being tracked and stuff, and so she called Ned, and he told her that I had left not long after her,” Peter quickly explains, sounding both sheepish and annoyed. “That was at like 1 or 2 I guess, and after she found out that I wasn’t at prom, she went out looking for me.”

  
“Oh shit, I’m sorry babe, fuck we should have thought about that,” Tony growls out, head dropping down between his shoulders as he leans on the counter. It was prom night, he sort of assumed May would expect Peter to stay out late having fun with his friends but he also knew she tended to stay up when Peter went out, waiting for him to come home. “What did she do?”

“She got home not long after we hung up, I’d gone to bed and I heard her come in and got up cuz I was surprised she wasn’t home already and she freaked out on me, wanted to know where I was and why I hadn’t come home or even called her, it was a mess,” Peter says with a sigh. “I told her that I left because I wasn’t happy there and didn’t come home cuz I didn’t want to disappoint her, so I just walked around all night and lost track of time, I think she bought it but she’s still super pissed. Evidently I’m grounded.”

  
“She didn’t call the cops to have them look for you?” Tony asks, figuring that might be her first recourse. 

  
“No, not yet anyway, I think that was her plan when she got home but then I was there so she didn’t need to, but yeah, she’s super pissed,” Peter grumbles.

  
“Where is she now?” Tony asks, confused, since Peter was openly talking to him while sitting in his bedroom. 

  
“Some meeting at her work, I’m just doing homework and stuff, figured it was best to just stay home and not make her any more angry.”

“Yeah, definitely a good call,” Tony agrees. 

  
“She’s back to threatening to put bars on my window but I pointed out she can’t since it’s the fire escape and that’s not legal, she didn’t really want to hear that,” Peter admits.

  
“I’d imagine not, but you are technically right,” Tony laughs once. 

  
“Yeah, and what she doesn’t know is that I could just kick the things off anyway, but best I not mention that part,” Peter giggles. 

  
“Are you still gonna be able to get up on the roof?” Tony asks, worried that now they could talk more, it was about to be taken away again. “Will you still be able to sneak out for us to meet up?”

  
“Oh fuck yes, no question, I’ll tranquilize her if I have to,” Peter states clearly. 

  
“Let’s not get extreme,” Tony laughs. “Is she working any night shifts coming up?”

“Um, not sure, I wouldn’t put it past her to get someone to babysit me though,” Peter grumbles again, going back to being annoyed. “But I’ll still get up on the roof, I can argue that technically I’m still at home.” 

  
“Well, don’t push her buttons too much babe, we will figure it out as we go,” Tony says gently. 

  
“Yup, I know, that’s why I’m staying inside today, hopefully it’ll chill her out a bit when she gets home.”

“Ok good, how long is she gonna be out?” Tony asks with a smirk as he heads back out to the bedroom to get dressed, glancing up at the camera as he goes, a sharp laugh in his ear.

  
“Probably not much longer, she left at like 10 this morning, said she’d be back by 3 or so. We could have had more time but someone was getting their beauty sleep,” Peter accuses him with a laugh and Tony gives the camera an offended look.

  
“Listen, it takes work to look this good and sleep is a part of that, and I already told you that someone wore me out last night, I don’t have the infinite energy that you have Mr. Parker,” Tony retorts, pulling Peter’s t-shirt off and stuffing it under his pillow to be hidden and heading to his closet. 

  
“I love that you slept in it,” Peter says quietly. 

  
“Where’s the one I gave you?” Tony asks him, pulling on a pair of jeans. 

  
“Under my pillow, I kept it close so I could smell you but I gotta be careful that May doesn’t find it and wash it, like Natasha did to you,” Peter replies with a smile in his voice. 

  
“Yeah, be careful with that, I plan to keep mine well-hidden as well, though I don’t think she’s doing me any favors again any time soon,” Tony laughs, pulling an AC/DC t-shirt over his head and reaching for his boots. 

  
“What are you up to today?” Peter asks, stretching his legs on his bed in Tony’s view, a textbook next to his left knee, notebook on his lap with a pen. 

  
“Not too much, going to forage for food, get a lay of the land and maybe tinker in the lab, I feel like working with my hands today,” Tony replies, flexing his hands at the thought. “Only once you can’t talk anymore though of course.” 

  
“Good,” Peter replies smugly, getting more comfortable on his bed, making Tony laugh as he sits down on his own, flopping back on his back. “You know you could just walk around naked while in there, for me.”

  
Tony laughs sharply, turning to look at the camera. 

  
“Oh I could, could I?” He demands, sitting up again and starting to reach for the hem of his shirt to pull it back off when Peter jumps suddenly in his vision. 

  
“Oh shit, May’s home, I gotta go,” he hurries out, hand already reaching for the mask. “Love you, I’ll talk to you later.”

  
“Love you too babe, hurry,” Tony replies, a touch of panic in his own chest at Peter getting caught. He hears Peter tell Karen to shut down and then pulls the mask off and Tony is left with nothing to see. A part of him wishes Pete had left it turned on so he could hear their conversation, but he figures Peter will tell him about it later anyway. 

With nothing else to do, he heads out to the kitchen for breakfast, well, lunch really, maybe even an early dinner. He hears voices as he’s going down the hall, all male, maybe Rhodey. They appear to be coming from the war room, reserved for highly important Avengers meetings and planning and Tony’s immediate reaction is to head the opposite direction. He tiptoes into the kitchen, his stomach grumbling, and quickly snags a bagel, which really isn’t his first choice, but will do in a pinch. He quickly stuffs it into his mouth to carry it while he also grabs coffee and a bottle of water and turns to head back to his bedroom when his path is blocked by a man he’s never met before. He’s tall and thin, with a long face and a rather impressive swoop in his hair. He’s wearing what appears to be a cape with an ornate collar about his neck.

  
“Tony Stark, I'm Doctor Stephen Strange. I need you to come with me,” the man instructs, though he doesn’t move right away, eyes watching Tony’s confusion and reticence. “We need your help. It's not overselling it to say that the fate of the universe is at stake.” 

  
“And who’s we?” Tony asks, a touch of belligerence in his voice. Just who in hell did this guy think he was, busting into what was basically Tony’s home and telling him what to do?

  
Just then, Bruce Banner steps out of the war room and right into Tony’s line of sight and all of Tony’s anger is quickly forgotten.

  
“Hey, Tony,” Bruce says awkwardly, waving slightly before coming forward to hug Tony tightly, who barely returns it with hands full of coffee and a bagel.

  
“Bruce?” Tony says quietly, completely shocked at this turn of events. He wonders if Natasha was the one who finally found him. “Are you alright?” Tony asks and Bruce shakes his head once before stepping back and turning to head back into the war room. The caped doctor follows behind him and once he collects himself, Tony finds his feet and stumbles into the room as well.

  
The war room is empty aside from the three of them and a squat Asian man wearing a strange sort of robe. He introduces himself as Wong, apparently he’s an assistant or something to the Doctor. They make a very odd couple indeed. Nevertheless, Tony obediently sits down to hear what they have to say, putting his coffee and bagel down on the table where they will be forgotten.

  
“Thanos is coming,” Bruce says bluntly, starting things off and Tony stares at him confused. He glances around the room to try to decipher what in hell is happening and a pit starts to form in his stomach as he looks at everyone’s very grave expressions. He decides to put the Thanos thing on the back burner for a second because he’s not sure how to mentally unpack that statement, so instead he decides to ask more direct questions of Bruce.

  
“Where the hell have you been anyway? Where’s Thor?” He asks and Bruce looks a bit sheepish but does explain about his time as Hulk in space, how he had met up with Thor and what had happened to Asgard. He then goes into detail on how they were captured by Thanos and how he was after these Infinity Stones, several of which Tony is already familiar with, without even realizing what they were. 

  
“Are you sure Loki is dead? He’s been dead before?” Tony asks, still trying to wrap his head around it. 

  
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Bruce replies quietly, looking down. “Thor may be as well, I got sent back here before I could see what happened.”

  
“Where do these stones even come from?” Tony asks and Wong is the one to step up to fill him in. 

  
His hands waving in the air, he appears to be using some sort of magic to create a visual for Tony and five different colored holographic stones appear, floating in what appears to be a universe.

  
“From the dawn of the universe, there was nothing. Then, boom! The Big Bang sent six elemental crystals, hurtling across the virgin universe. These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of existence,” he explains in a dramatic voice before Strange takes over.

  
“Space. Reality. Power. Soul. Mind.” Each stone glows a little brighter as he names them before he stops at the last one, hands moving in a strange pattern in front of a large pendent he’s wearing around his neck, the front sliding open to reveal the last stone. “And Time.”

  
Tony is mesmerized by the glowing emerald stone for a moment, the only real one in the room currently, but he manages to tear his eyes away to refocus on the task at hand.

  
“Tell me his name again,” he commands and Bruce comes towards him, hands flailing slightly, panic on his face.

  
“Thanos. He's a plague, Tony. He invades planets. He takes what he wants. He wipes out half the population. He sent Loki. The attack on New York. That's him,” he rambles out, sounding slightly hysterical by the end. “He wants to destroy half of the population in the universe, trillions of lives Tony.” 

  
“Oh shit, this is it,” Tony says quietly to himself. The big one, the thing he’d been dreading but somehow knew, deep in his gut, was coming. “What is our timeline? How long have we got?” He asks the room, mentally trying to prepare himself.

  
“There’s no telling. He has the Power and Space Stones, which already makes him the strongest creature in the whole universe. If he gets his hands on all six Stones Tony…” Bruce starts.

  
“He can destroy life on a scale hitherto undreamt of,” Strange finishes and Tony frowns at him, shaking his head slightly.

  
“Did you seriously just say ‘hitherto undreamt of’?” He asks sarcastically, deflecting his own panic and the doctor glares at him. 

  
Suddenly the cape moves on its own and reaches out to smack Tony sharply on the arm, making him jump in surprise. He eyes the cape carefully and decides perhaps now isn’t the time to pick a fight with a piece of fabric.

  
“I'll allow that,” he states evenly, keeping one eye warily on the cape. “If Thanos needs to have all six, why don't we just stick this one down the garbage disposal?” He suggests, hand waving towards the pendent around Strange’s neck and the cape ruffles slightly again, making Tony move away a few inches. 

  
“No can do,” Strange replies dryly.

  
“We swore an oath to protect the Time Stone. With our lives,” Wong explains seriously.

  
“And I swore off dairy, but then, Ben & Jerry's named a flavor after me, so….,” Tony adds, not quite comprehending that this guy would avoid doing the best possible solution because of some voodoo oath he swore.

  
“Stark Raving Hazelnuts,” Strange supplies.

  
“It’s not bad,” Tony pushes, deflecting again.

  
“It’s a bit chalky,” Strange retorts.

  
“A Hunka-Hulka Burning Fudge is our favorite,” Wong adds and Tony fights rolling his eyes while Bruce’s head pops up.

  
“That’s a thing?” Banner asks and Tony shakes his head, they were well and truly off topic now, at a time when they should be more focused than ever. 

  
“Whatever. My point is: things change,” Tony presses, staring at the pendent meaningfully.

  
“Our oath to protect the Time Stone cannot be changed. This Stone may be the best chance we have against Thanos,” Strange argues and Tony sighs loudly.

  
“And conversely, it may also be his best chance against us,” Tony points out angrily, standing up to get into Stephen’s space. This was all of their lives this guy was risking to protect a piece of rock. 

  
“Well, if we don't do our jobs,” Strange replies snidely, returning Tony’s glare.

  
“What is your job exactly? Besides making balloon animals?” Tony asks condescendingly and this time Strange sighs, though the anger is gone from his face.

  
“Protecting your reality, douchebag, I am a Master of the Mystic Arts,” he replies evenly.

  
Sensing that things were about to come to blows, Bruce quickly steps between them.

  
“Okay, guys, could we table this discussion right now? The fact is that we have this Stone. We know where it is. Vision is out there somewhere with the Mind Stone, and we have to find him, now.” He turns to Tony, face hopeful and Tony inwardly cringes. After Germany, he’d lost touch with Vision as well. But Bruce didn’t even know about what had happened, had no idea about the accords or anything. 

  
“Yeah, that's the uh… the thing, two weeks ago, he turned off his transponder, he’s ghosting,” Tony says with a slight cringe, remembering the emergency meeting he’d been pulled into about it. He hates that he’s going to have to tell Bruce what happened in Germany, worried that his friend won’t side with him. 

  
“WHAT? Tony? You lost another super bot?” Bruce hollers out and Tony flinches, not thrilled with being reminded about Ultron. 

  
“I didn't lose him. He's more than that anyway, a bot. He's evolving,” he tries to explain, though he knows there is more to it than that. 

  
“Who could find him?” Stephen asks evenly, not picking up on Tony’s clear emotional turmoil.

  
Tony sighs deeply, closing his eyes and rubbing them for a moment. He knows he was just giving the caped crusader shit for being sentimental about a rock when it could solve their rather huge problem and therefore Tony shouldn’t let his own emotional baggage get in the way either, but it didn’t make it any easier.

  
“Shit,” he curses quietly. “Probably Steve Rogers,” he supplies, shoulders slumping slightly in defeat. 

  
“Ok, call him, get him on it,” Bruce pushes, completely missing the discomfort on Tony’s face.

  
“It’s not that easy,” Tony starts. “God, we haven’t caught up in a while have we?” He asks Bruce in a forced conversational tone. The other man just stares back at him confused. “Here’s the thing, the Avengers, we broke up, it’s uh, it’s basically done right now.”

  
“Broke up? Like a band? Like The Beatles?” Bruce asks, brow furrowing.

  
“Cap and I fell out hard, we aren’t on speaking terms,” Tony says quietly and Bruce’s mouth drops open. 

  
“Tony, listen to me. Thor's gone. Thanos is coming. It doesn't matter who you're talking to or not, get over it” he points out and Tony nods, realizing he’s right.

  
Quietly he leaves the room and goes to his bedroom where he opens the bottom drawer in his nightstand. He pulls out the phone Steve sent him, muttering ‘flip phone’ to himself sarcastically before heading back to the war room. He hands it over to Bruce wordlessly. He might have agreed to get over it, but he still didn’t want to be the one to make the call. 

  
“Where’s Nat?” Tony asks him, now realizing her absence. Rhodes and Ross are suspiciously absent as well. “Who else knows?”

  
“Nat knows, she’s updating Fury,” Bruce replies, eyes on the phone as he presses the call button. 

  
Deciding he didn’t want to listen to this conversation, Tony grabs his bagel and cold coffee and heads to the kitchen where he mechanically makes a fresh cup and tosses the bagel in the garbage. He takes a few sips of the hot coffee before he feels his legs going out from under him and he slides down to sit on the floor with his back to the cupboards. His breathing picks up speed as he fully processes it, everything he just heard. It just seemed so incredibly unreal, like out of a movie or something, but then again, he didn’t ever foresee an alien attack on New York. And that sure as shit had happened, apparently courtesy of the same guy. 

  
What’s worse is that he’s genuinely worried about their chances, especially after hearing about the stones, knowing that this guy had two of them already. He wants to have confidence, wants to believe they can beat Thanos, save everyone but for the first time since becoming Iron Man, he has serious doubts. 

  
He takes a few moments, processing, panicking, mind rolling over it before he drags himself back up again, tosses back the rest of the coffee and heads back to the war room. Bruce is off the phone when he gets there, looking determined and Tony assumes he spoke with Steve and shit was under way. 

  
The rest of the day is spent discussing, planning, though none of them truly knew what to plan for, because how in fuck could they? But finding Vision and then protecting him seemed to be top priority and after a while it just feels incredibly circular. 

  
It’s late by the time Tony makes it back to his bedroom and he sits down on the edge of his bed and puts his head in his hands, the ache and desperation pounding inside his skull. Everything they had fought before, done before, paled in comparison to this. Even Sokovia seemed trivial against the possibility of the elimination of 50% of the all life in the universe. 

  
He needs to hear Peter’s voice, that’s the only thing that’s going to get him through right now. But he’s not sure how much to even tell Peter. He knows he would want to help but does Tony want him to? He doesn’t think so, it was too dangerous. It was clear all day with just the small assembled group that they all knew there was a chance none of them would make it out of this alive. Tony couldn’t risk Peter in this, he had to make sure Peter stayed safe. 

  
He grabs the glasses from the side of the bed and pops them on. He’s not sure if Peter will be even able to talk, since he’s grounded and all but he finds him out on his roof, worry in his voice the second he knows Tony can hear him courtesy of the camera.

  
“Tony, what’s wrong? Is it Fury? Has he found out about last night?” Peter hurries out. He’s pacing back and forth, hands animated as he talks. 

  
“No, no Pete, he hasn’t, it’s fine, just a long day of meetings with Rhodey and Ross,” Tony lies smoothly. He decides to omit anything about Bruce’s return, that would lead to more questions. “They are just going on about bringing the team back together and all of that stuff again, same old.” 

  
“Oh, I’m sorry, I hate that they keep pressuring you to talk to Mr. Rogers like that, they should be more understanding,” Peter growls out. Tony can’t help but think about the fact that Steve would probably be there soon. 

  
“It’s fine Pete, I’ll have to talk to him again eventually,” Tony says quietly, trying to muster himself back to appearing more normal. He’d put the camera in for fun but now he kind of regretted it because it was tough to hide his reaction to the day’s news right now. “How was the rest of your day? Has May calmed down?” He knows Peter will clock that he’s changing the subject, but Peter thankfully just goes with it. 

  
“Yeah, she’s a little better now. It was an okay day, kinda tense but we are more or less back to normal, well as normal as we’ve been lately,” Peter sighs. “Oh, she’s working Tuesday night, is there a chance we could meet up at the motel again?” He asks with an excited voice and a thrill goes down Tony’s spine. He would move heaven and earth to spend time with Peter and frankly wants to get as much time as possible right now, considering what was likely coming. 

  
“Aren’t you grounded?” He asks in a cheeky tone, glancing at the camera with a cocked brow. “Perhaps you shouldn’t be breaking the rules quite so soon Mr. Parker, in fact maybe I should come to your place to make sure you stay put and behave yourself.”

  
“Really? Do you think it’s safe for you to come here? What if someone is watching the place?” Peter asks unsure and Tony can hear him biting his lip. 

  
“Pete, consider how long you have been talking to me while sitting on your roof, and the other things you’ve done up there while talking to me,” Tony says with a laugh. “I think at this point we would know if you were being watched.” The thought had occurred to him earlier in the day, just after he’d spoken to Peter. The motel was a great idea and all but if Peter was being watched, they would have heard from Fury by now. And based on the scans that he had had F.R.I.D.A.Y. do of securities systems, it had turned up nothing around Peter’s location. 

  
And now, it was safe to say Fury had bigger concerns. 

  
“Oh, yeah, true,” Peter realizes and Tony can practically hear him blushing since he’d jerked off a few times up there while talking to Tony. “Ok, so you can come here then?” 

  
“Yeah, I think I can get away after dark, I’ll make sure I can,” Tony promises. He had to. He needed to see Peter, touch him. 

  
“Ok, awesome,” Peter says happily and Tony envies his obliviousness. 

  
It goes quiet for a few minutes and Tony knows that Peter can still sense something is off. The kid was intuitive and seemed better at reading Tony’s moods than even Tony, but he was determined to try to protect Peter from this. So he changes the subject, asking bland questions about where he and May had gone for dinner or what they had watched on TV. Peter answers him, but doesn’t push him, just basically humors him and for the first time since they started talking, they don’t get sexual in any way. Tony wanted Peter, more than anything, but he wanted him in person, not over some airwave, not this time. He does his best not to get too mushy when they finally decide to go to bed separately. But he can’t help putting a little more emphasis into it when he tells Peter he loves him. Again, Peter doesn’t mention it, just goes quiet for a second before returning the sentiment and they log off. 

  
Tony can feel him watching him the entire time he gets ready for bed, and even after he gets under the covers and shuts the lights off, rolling on his side away from the camera so the younger man can’t see his wide-eyed haunted expression. 

  
Since Afghanistan, when he’d built Mach 1 and escaped the terrorists, he knew he was stepping into one hell of a different world. Going from a weapons developer, playboy and all-around shithead to a superhero was a whirlwind but he hadn’t regretted it then. Being a better person, making an effort to do good in the world gave him more purpose and made him feel more worthy of everything his father has bestowed upon him, no matter their relationship. Peter had given him the rest, the love and partnership he now knew he was always looking for. That other half, his person in life. 

  
But New York, the Chitauri attack and the realization of just how not alone they were had been a massive awakening for him. Floating out of that wormhole staring up at a massive alien ship that was bearing down on him had changed him fundamentally. That was the first time he’d felt regret in becoming Iron Man. Somehow, being ignorant to what was out there, to the true dangers of the world felt almost comforting. But moreover, in his new role, not only was he aware, he was expected to do something about them. 

  
It had taken him a long time to get past that, to understand and appreciate his role, as part of the team and as Iron Man and the weight that carried. Knowing became more comforting, then he could be prepared, could face the danger head on. 

  
But this. Thanos. It felt too huge. Too big for him to face, to understand or even wrap his head around. Facing the real prospect of that kind of loss, a deep, prevalent, expansive loss was pressing on him from all sides, making it hard to breathe, to think. 

  
He could lose Peter. 

  
Right when he found him, when he finally found true happiness, felt like he had a place with someone who mattered beside him. Some bastard from another planet was going to try to take that away. Tony wants to feel inspiration from that knowledge, a sense of purpose to stop the titan, but he has no idea how and he’s so overwhelmed with the enormity of it that he feels helpless. 

  
He wants to curl like a child into Peter’s arms and just hide if he’s honest. A completely cowardly and ridiculous feeling, but it’s the truth right then. He’s tempted to get up, go out the window and go to Peter. Fury, May, all of them be damned. But he doesn’t. Because he still doesn’t want Peter to know.

  
And he had until Tuesday night to get his shit together if he was going to keep him from finding out. 


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just an FYI, I use the appropriate warnings of what will be in my fics, if you don't see a particular warning, then it isn't in the fic! I promise I won't sneak anything in that might upset anyone!

Monday crawls by, everyone at the compound morose but also determined. They spend time planning, though they have no idea what they are planning for. They also have no idea when Thanos is going to make a visit to Earth to collect the two stones, or if he would leave those two stones to last but planning was better than standing around doing nothing, no matter how meaningless it really was.

  
Natasha, who had come back in the middle of the night after meeting with Fury, leaves early to meet up with Steve to find Wanda and Vision. Tony doesn’t ask how Steve is, where he is, who talked to him or anything. Doesn’t want to know. That just leaves him, Bruce, the cryptic and slightly snobby Dr. Strange and his friend Wong in the compound.

  
He makes time to talk to Peter, if for no other reason than because Peter’s voice soothes his nerves better than anything. Their conversations are smoother, less stilted and Tony hopes he’s doing better at sounding normal. Peter says nothing either way but Tony doesn’t expect him to. With May watching Peter like a hawk, and Tony working with Bruce late into the night on researching the stones, it interrupts their late night chat but they decide to console themselves that it’s fine because Tony will be there with Peter the next night anyway. 

  
That thought is what keeps Tony going the next day. His body thrums with the excitement and need to feel Peter’s skin, to kiss him and just disappear into him and make him feel solid again at the same time. Peter was such a grounding force for him that he felt like he was just floating through life without him. 

  
If anyone notices his slightly buoyed mood during the day, they say nothing. In fact, they all seem pretty much in their own heads and don’t notice him at all. They wait for word from Natasha, and monitor for any signs of anything coming but it’s otherwise quiet. 

  
In fact, by the end of the day, Tony is alone in the residential quarters of the compound. Something he had been wanting for weeks but now that he had it, he finds it feels a bit empty and he’s more than happy to be leaving himself. Bruce heads off with Strange to his place, some building in New York that evidently he was in charge of. Tony doesn’t ask questions. But Bruce seems massively preoccupied, likely because of what he witnessed when he first met Thanos and wants to pour himself into as much research and literature as possible and liked the sound of the library made available by Dr. Strange.

  
Nonetheless, by dinner time, they are all gone and the place is very quiet and very empty. He scrounges around in the kitchen for dinner, not feeling hungry at all, but feeling like he still should because he had promised Peter to take care of himself. In the end he decides to just eat with Peter, like they had last time. 

  
Then he heads into his bedroom and locks the door and sits down with the glasses on to wait for Peter to tell him that his aunt had left for work. Peter is in his ear almost immediately, chattering excitedly but quietly while May has a shower and gets ready for work.

  
“She’s leaving soon, I’ll let you know when, but I mean, it’s not a short flight, so maybe you should leave once it gets dark enough and she should be gone by the time you get here,” he offers. “You gonna land on the roof again?”

  
“Yeah, think that’s easiest, and that sounds like a good plan,” Tony agrees, hurrying to get changed and ready. He splashes water on his face and brushes his teeth, pocketing a bottle of lube in view of the camera with a smirk on his face before grabbing his boots. 

  
“Oh, I uh… I got some of that, yesterday, on the way home from school,” Peter whispers and Tony stops and glances at the camera with a questioning look. “Um, you know, lube, figured I should keep some here as well, seemed like a smart idea.”

  
“Oh, ok,” Tony says, confusion melting away to understanding. “Yes, always good to be prepared. Did you get condoms?”

  
“No,” Peter answers shortly and Tony throws the camera another look.

  
“You should have those as well, Pete, always a good idea,” Tony tells him in a slightly reprimanding voice. 

  
“Why? I’m not planning on sleeping with anyone else?” Peter retorts and Tony nods dramatically. 

  
“Glad to hear it, but I just believe in always being ready, because sometimes there isn’t always time for clean up,” Tony points out and Peters hums in thought. 

  
“Yeah I guess, but I’m not worried about it tonight.”

  
“Good to know,” Tony laughs.

  
“Ok, she’s out of the shower,” Peter says even more quietly. “I better take the mask off in case she comes in here, but I’ll see you soon and I’ll put it back on to tell you she’s gone as soon as she’s out the door.”

  
“Ok babe, see you soon, love you,” Tony says gently, smiling at the camera and he hears Peter’s smile in his voice. 

  
“Love you too,” he whispers and then pulls the mask off, clearly hiding it under his pillow though Tony can kind of still hear what’s going on since he didn’t tell Karen to shut down. 

  
He listens as Peter shuffles around on his bed, the sound of pages turning as he works on homework, or pretends to anyway. While that is going on, he quickly suits up himself and slips out the window, scanning quickly for any heat signatures before activating the cloaking panels and taking flight. He does the same as he did the last time, keeping low and quiet, sliding smoothly through the air towards Peter’s building. When he spots the now extremely familiar roof he lands silently and retracts the suit into the reactor on his chest and leans against the wall beside the door leading down to wait for Peter’s signal. 

  
May is still there, telling Peter in a stern voice that she expects him to respect the rules, that he’s grounded and he’s not allowed to leave. Peter agrees, telling her he has homework and wasn’t planning on going anywhere anyway. It takes a bit but eventually she’s satisfied that he’s going to behave and so she tells him good night, and heads out the door. Within seconds Peter’s got the mask back on, filling Tony in. 

  
“Ok, she just left,” he says quickly.

  
“I know, I heard,” Tony laughs. “You didn’t turn the mask off. I’m on the roof, I’ll just wait until I hear her car pull away before I risk it.”

  
“Oh, shit, yeah, I forgot, oh well, I’ll open the window,” Peter laughs himself and Tony can see him hurrying to the window, sliding it open, the sound echoed as it comes up the alley as well. 

  
He hears a car door shut down on the street, the sound of an older engine starting up and then pulling away and he assumes it’s May, has to be, and like a shot he takes off towards the fire escape, almost leaping down the steps in anticipation. 

  
Peter barely gets out of the way before Tony dives through the window, pins him to the wall and yanks the mask off to claim his mouth. The younger man is a bit startled by the force of it at first but gives in quickly, wrapping himself around Tony as his tongue meets the older man’s in equal measure, his throat issuing a low hum of pleasure and satisfaction. 

  
Picking Peter up, Tony wastes no time in carrying him over to the bed and collapsing down on top of him on it, grinding his hips down, hands sliding up Peter’s shirt to touch his skin, trail down his ribs and sides. One of Peter’s hands lands in Tony’s hair, gripping on just the right side of painful, while the other starts pulling his sweater up, trying to get it off of him while his own hips push upward. 

  
The desperation makes Tony want more, so much more and he starts almost ripping Peter’s clothes off, startling the other man again but Peter seems to just see it as eagerness and obliges, helping divest Tony of his black sweater and jeans as well until they are both naked and writhing together on the bed, groaning and panting. Peter’s hand slaps the side table, fingers feeling for the handle as he yanks the drawer open to get ahold of the fresh new bottle of lube before he thrusts it at Tony. 

  
Tony rips the plastic seal off with his teeth and coats himself with more than he probably needed before settling back between Peter’s spread legs and lining himself up. As soon as Peter feels him start to press in his head goes back and he moans loudly, hands gripping Tony’s shoulders, fingers pressing in almost painfully. Tony focuses on the pain to ground him, to keep him from coming too fast. Every nerve ending feels like it’s on fire and he’s overwhelmed again, but this time it’s by Peter and how he was able to make Tony feel like this, do this to him, it was worth all of it, everything he’d ever been through in his life. 

  
He seats himself quickly, mouth kissing and sucking across Peter’s neck and he starts rocking almost immediately, thrusting hard and deep and Peter’s legs move higher to open himself up more to Tony. 

  
Tony isn’t sure when it happens, but his hand finds Peter’s, fingers entwined as he pushes the younger man’s back on the bed as he starts pounding into him with more purpose, the bed creaking and groaning with the effort, coupling with the incredibly pornographic sounds the two of them are making. 

  
Peter’s other hand slides between them, wrapping around his cock and stroking in time with Tony’s thrusts until his head goes back again, and he comes hard, body jolting and tightening and fluttering around Tony, pulling the older man over the edge with him. It’s the right kind of mind blowing overwhelming sensation that Tony wants, with the right person. 

  
Coming down from it is just as overwhelming and his forehead lands on Peter’s collarbone as he tries to catch his breath, not even aware that he had been holding it while he was climaxing. Peter’s heartbeat thrums beneath his chin, his panting breaths moving Tony’s hair but neither moves, bodies sweaty and tangled. 

  
Not for the first time, Tony feels emotional after sex with Peter and it’s just as embarrassing as it was last time but Peter doesn’t say anything, just let’s Tony lie on him, press into his neck as he slides his arms around the older man comfortingly. 

  
Tony doesn’t know how long they stay this way, his softening cock slides out of Peter but neither moves still. It’s only when a cool breeze goes across his naked ass that he comes out of the Peter induced fog he was quietly reveling in. He realizes with a bit of a shock that they had left the window open, the curtain fluttering in the gentle night wind coming in and he tenses and then laughs once.

  
“Any chance your neighbors heard that?” He asks as he feels Peter react with a slight jump to Tony’s actions. 

  
He feels Peter’s head turn as he looks at the window himself before his body tenses as well. 

  
“Uh, fuck, I hope not… oh shit…” Peter stutters out.

  
Weirdly, Tony isn’t worried. He knows he should be. Hell they had been jumping through hoops and doing all kinds of cloak and dagger shit just to be able to talk and eventually be together for the last few weeks. Keeping it a secret had been absolutely everything. But now, in the face of what Tony knew was coming, it suddenly doesn’t feel like it matters as much. He knows that’s dangerous thinking, because hell yes it still mattered, but he finds he can’t help the giggles that start to escape him. 

  
“Tony, we should be more careful, what if someone heard?” Peter asks in a slightly panicked voice. 

  
“It’s unlikely they would know it was us specifically Pete, they’d only know two people just had mind blowing sex, but I don’t think they could identify us by our voices,” Tony points out and Peter relaxes slightly. 

  
“Still though, I think we should close it and be more careful,” Peter admonishes, nudging Tony to get him to move, something he’s very very resistant to do he finds but he does give in with a groan, sliding off of the younger man and heading over to the window. He glances outside carefully, hiding his nude body from view and doesn’t see anything suspicious outside. Feeling satisfied, he closes the window and the drapes and turns and gives Peter a thumbs up. 

  
“We’re good, you hungry?” Tony asks and Peter blinks at him for a few seconds before laughing and shaking his head, clearly unsure of how else to react to Tony’s erratic behaviour. 

  
“Um, sure, yeah, let’s maybe get cleaned up first though,” Peter suggests, delicately getting off of the bed and starting towards the bathroom. 

  
Tony follows immediately, arms sliding around Peter’s thin waist and mouth latching on to his shoulder, making their walk into more of a rocking shuffle but they make it to the bathroom. Once clean, Peter snags a pair of boxers from his bedroom, tossing some towards Tony before heading for the kitchen and grabbing the pizza menu. He doesn’t even attempt to offer Tony anything in the fridge, something Tony is grateful for though he kind of would like it if Peter cooked him something. He missed Peter’s cooking, even though he hadn't had that much of it. 

  
Pizza ordered they flop onto the couch together, flicking the TV on, only to ignore it in favor of making out until the knock on the door. Like last time, Tony hides while Peter answers it and collects the food. Also like last time, they devour the pizza like ravenous wolves while watching an old episode of Dancing With The Stars. 

  
“It must be so weird to have to learn a dance like that?” Peter remarks around a mouthful of pizza as William Shatner stumbles his way across the screen, his poor partner trying desperately not to get stepped on or dropped. “I mean, when is he ever gonna use this skill again?”

  
“You’d be surprised and besides, ballroom dancing can be good for your posture and has been known to be great for hitting on women in certain settings,” Tony remarks, side eyeing Peter for the expected reaction he would get. 

  
“Wait, do you know how to do that?” Peter asks, pizza in one hand forgotten as the other one waves at the TV while Shatner continues to do a rather deplorable job at the waltz. 

  
“Maybe,” Tony replies slyly, smirking at Peter. “Yes. My mother made me learn, I assume she thought it would be a good hobby for me and that I should know how, for whatever reason. I think she just liked it herself and therefore thought I would as well.”

  
“Did you?”

  
“No, I hated it,” Tony admits. “I never told her that though, I mean, looking back now, it wasn’t so bad and I have employed it more times at formal parties than I thought I would.”

  
“And it helped you pick up chicks,” Peter points out, a touch of jealousy in his voice.

  
“Women Peter, and yes, women of a more elegant stature,” Tony says gently. They had already had the talk about Tony’s history but he knew it still stung Peter and bothered him. “Do you want me to teach you?”

  
“About picking up women of an elegant stature?” Peter chokes out, pizza dropping onto his plate in his lap and Tony snorts loudly.

  
“No, idiot, the waltz, do you want me to show you how to waltz?”

  
“Oh,” Peter squeaks out, turning red at his mistake. “Um, now?”

  
“Sure, why not,” Tony laughs, already putting his plate on the coffee table and standing, reaching for Peter who reluctantly puts his own dinner down and stands up, wiping his hands on his boxers. 

  
“Right, we need music,” Tony decides. “You got any?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess, I mean, I have Spotify on my phone, I can connect that to my speakers,” Peter says carefully, frowning at Tony slightly when the older man motions for him to do just that. 

  
Sound system set up, Tony quickly hunts down a song that will work for the situation, the Blue Danube Waltz. As soon as the opening notes start playing, he glances at Peter and cracks up laughing at the younger man’s half bewildered, half horrified expression. 

  
Not willing to be dissuaded, because frankly he’s having way too much fun right now, though he’s fully aware of the real cause of his current giddy and hyperactive behavior, he steps towards Peter and pulls him into an empty space in the living room. 

  
“Right, put one hand here,” Tony grabs Peter’s left hand and places it on his shoulder, his own left hand lands on Peter’s back, just below his shoulder blade. “Ok, now take my other hand,” he instructs, holding out his right hand in the right position and Peter obeys a moment later, brows still pulled together in a slight frown but he appears to also be concentrating. “Ok, it’s a basic step, in the count of four, just watch my feet and follow them.”

  
Tony starts moving, using the music to set the beat as he moves his feet in the basic pattern of the waltz. Peter stumbles as he tries to figure it out, feet plopping down on the floor more than gliding but he does start to at least pick up the steps, even if he’s not elegant about it. 

  
“There you go, see, not that hard and who knows, you might need to know this one day,” Tony says quietly, not meeting Peter’s eyes when they come up and land on his face. He manages to bite his tongue and not add the if I’m not around comment on the end but that doesn’t stop Peter from eyeing him suspiciously. 

  
“Somehow I doubt that Tony,” Peter says sarcastically. 

  
“Senior prom is next year,” Tony points out with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood again. 

  
“And I intend on spending it exactly the same way I spent junior prom,” Peter retorts and Tony snorts and grins at him, finally meeting his eyes. He sure as shit wants the same thing, but he knows he can’t promise it. 

  
“Well, I’d like to think by then we can graduate to a nicer hotel,” Tony replies, raising his brows in emphasis. 

  
“That place wasn’t so bad, it didn’t smell or anything,” Peter points out, mouth quivering as he tries not to laugh. 

  
“Oh ok, well if that’s your barometer on the suitability of a hotel, then I can see why you might not think you’d use the waltz at any point in your life.”

  
Peter feigns an offended look, stopping dancing and smacking Tony’s arm before marching over to his phone to change the music.

  
“Ok, enough of this shit,” he grumbles out, fingers moving quickly before a new song comes on, decidedly at the opposite end of the spectrum from the Blue Danube. It’s some sort of poppy rap song with a heavy beat and Peter spins on his heel and starts shaking his hips and dancing his way back over to Tony who can only just stand and stare at him for a moment. 

  
“What in hell is that you are doing?” He asks finally, doing his best to look horrified.

  
“Dancing!” Peter screeches out, now looking definitely offended as his face turns red again. 

  
“That was dancing?” Tony asks him, head cocking to the side as though he’s trying to decipher a puzzle. “Are you sure? I thought you had injured yourself or something?”

  
“Shut up! It’s better than the waltz!” Peter declares loudly, glaring at Tony with his hands on his hips. “Don’t you just dance normally?”

“That was normal?” Tony pushes, now giggling because he can’t hold it in anymore and Peter storms towards him to launch some sort of attack but Tony gets his arms around him before he can and they start circling in a bizarre half dance, half embrace, both of them laughing loudly. 

  
When the song changes, Tony lets Peter go and starts dancing himself, trying to mimic some of the moves Peter had just shown him for fun and Peter’s head goes back with laughter before he too joins in and they end up flailing around the room, bumping into the couch and each other and the walls but neither caring. It’s the most Tony has laughed in years, the happiest he has felt in even more years and he wants to remember every second of it. He doesn’t dwell, doesn’t think about anything else, doesn’t want any dark thoughts to creep in and when they threaten to, he pulls Peter in and kisses him, long and languid, savoring every second of it until they are even more breathless, bodies pressed together in a scorching hot line. Wanting more, wanting everything, Tony kisses him harder, pushing him back towards the couch but meeting some resistance. 

  
“We can’t have sex on my aunt’s couch,” Peter points out between kisses. “Feels like that’s going too far,” he laughs and Tony nods, thinking that’s a fair point. 

  
Redirected, he starts pulling Peter down the hall to the bedroom, hands pushing the younger man’s boxers down to the floor, tripping him slightly as he stumbles out of them while trying to keep his mouth latched onto Tony’s. Before they get to the bedroom, Tony manages to drop his own pair, leaving them in the hall as he pushes the door closed and lands on top of Peter on the bed, rutting their bodies together, erections sliding against each other and they both moan loudly. 

  
Peter tries to flip them suddenly, about knocking both of them off the twin size bed onto the floor, but they manage to hang on just in time, both laughing loudly before shuffling so Tony is on his back on the bed, Peter straddling him, grinding down onto Tony hard. Hand searching around the bed, Peter latches onto Tony’s neck, kissing and sucking a line down his throat while he finds the lube before leaning back, standing up on his knees to slick Tony up. He keeps eye contact with Tony as he lines the older man’s cock up and starts sinking down onto him, his gaze intense and Tony knows Peter has noticed his spastic behavior all night, but hasn’t mentioned it, likely hoping Tony will tell him when he’s ready. 

  
When Tony is all the way in, Peter settling on his lap, he leans forward to kiss Tony slowly, deeply without moving his hips at all, dragging it out for as long as they both can tolerate before he starts to circle his hips slowly. Tony loves how far they’ve come, from their first times together to now, and how well they know each other’s bodies, know what the other wants and needs and how to move just right. Peter especially has learned so much and his confidence now compared to that first time Tony had sucked him off on the theatre couch is night and day. He loves that he’s the one who’s got to go on that journey with Peter, to watch him become this new person, and it makes him love him that much more. 

  
Peter builds speed slowly, sitting up and rocking with more intent, hands balancing on Tony’s chest at first before he leans back slightly and presses them against Tony’s thighs to change the angle as he starts riding him harder. Tony grips Peter’s thighs, feeling the muscle move as he bounces and rocks himself on Tony’s cock, watching Peter’s face as his head tilts back, eyes closed as he focuses on feeling it, every inch sliding inside him and his expression is pure bliss. With each increase in speed and pressure, every movement growing sharper as they get closer, they both get louder, Peter crying out and gasping every time Tony’s cock goes across his prostate; Tony moaning and cursing every time Peter tightens around him. If the neighbors hadn’t heard them the first time, they will this time. 

  
Peter’s control and movements grow even more uncoordinated when he lets go of one of Tony’s thighs to wrap his hand around his own leaking cock, jerking it rapidly before spilling on Tony’s stomach and chest, loudly groaning out Tony’s name as he squeezes out every last drop and Tony watches mesmerized, feeling every part of it. He waits until Peter starts coming down from his orgasm, sagging down to balance his hands on the bed above Tony’s shoulders, before he wraps his hands around the younger man’s hips and starts fucking up into him hard, heels digging into the bed. It’s fast and brutal and Peter squeaks above him with the force of his thrusts before Tony lets go and pushes in as far as he can to fill him as he comes, his voice a growl of possession.

  
His eyes are closed for a long moment after, though as he comes down from the high, he can feel Peter staring at him and can only guess at the expression on his face. But Peter waits until he knows Tony is paying attention to him before speaking and his voice is wry. 

  
“So I guess I’m not sitting down at all tomorrow.”

  
Tony knows he shouldn’t laugh and starts fighting the smile threatening to betray him because he does feel bad, as he should, but also feels a little like it was totally worth it. 

  
“You heal fast, don’t you?” Tony asks bluntly, finally opening his eyes to stare up at Peter with a blank expression. 

  
“I do, but not that fast,” Peter retorts, though he’s clearly trying very hard not to laugh himself. 

  
“Worth it though, just admit it,” Tony challenges him and a few seconds later, Peter breaks and laughs once, loudly. “Thought so.”

  
“You’re an ass,” Peter giggles out. “But you’re my ass,” he decides before leaning down to kiss Tony once.

  
“Yup, and I own this ass, just so we are clear,” Tony replies, hands gripping Peter’s ass on just the right side of painful and Peter squeaks in surprise and then laughs and nods. “Good.”

  
Peter resumes kissing him, settling down on top of Tony despite the mess and they drag it out, knowing full well time wasn’t really on their side, but not wanting to waste any of it. They eventually make it to the shower, intending to clean up but instead Tony finds a reserve of energy and need and instead presses Peter’s chest against the wall, fucking him from behind until they both come hard enough to make their legs feel like jelly. He does feel definitely bad when he sees Peter wince slightly as they finish getting cleaned up after and kisses him gently, pulling him in and holding him tightly under the warm water. The dark thoughts sneak their way in again and he’s grateful for the water to hide the few tears that sneak out. A part of him finds a renewed determination to win, to fight Thanos and survive it to come back to Peter so they could live happily ever after but the glass half empty realist side of him reminds him that the probabilities were not on his side. Even if he survived whatever fight was likely coming, the chances of them defeating Thanos still felt insanely small and that meant that when the bastard fulfilled his goal, there was a 50/50 chance either he, or Peter or both of them would be wiped out. 

  
“Tony?” Peter asks him quietly, the sound of his voice shaking Tony from his thoughts and he notices that the water is decidedly cooler, the hot water quickly running out on them. “You’re shaking, are you ok?” His voice is concerned, hands running up and down Tony’s back as he tries to comfort him though he doesn’t know why he needs to. 

  
Tony swallows the lump in his throat, pressing his nose into Peter’s neck for one more breath, the Axe body wash revitalized, before he pulls his head back to kiss him once, twice, a few times. 

  
“I’m fine,” he finally says when he feels like he’s got control over his voice. “That was just pretty intense,” he adds with a smirk and Peter continues to stare at him concerned, clearly not buying it. 

  
“Tony, talk to me, what is going on with you?” He demands gently, dark eyes holding Tony in place and he has to swallow again. 

  
“It’s getting cold, let’s get out and get dried off,” Tony says quickly, turning around and shutting the water off before pulling the shower curtain open and reaching for towels, handing one to Peter wordlessly before drying himself off quickly and heading to the bedroom, not looking back at Peter. 

  
“Tony, I’m not going to drop this,” Peter says angrily, following him, still rubbing the towel in his hair and over his body. “What are you hiding from me, why won’t you let me help?”

  
“Because you can’t,” Tony replies simply. “Because this is something you can’t really help with, so please stop pushing.”

  
Peter stops, staring at him hurt, towel hanging from his hands. 

  
“What? Why not?” He asks quietly, voice small. Tony quickly tries to come up with a lie, something plausible that Peter would buy as to why Tony was so upset and behaving so strangely and he decides on something that is actually sort of the truth, just with a lot of information missing. 

  
“Steve is coming back, Ross wants the team back together and it’s just a lot, that’s all,” Tony replies, folding his own towel neatly and putting it on the end of the bed, glancing at the clock. May would be home in a half hour, he should get going but the last thing he wants to do is leave. He wants to run away again, take Peter with him and just find a life together somewhere else but there was literally nowhere in the universe they could go to get away from Thanos, to get away from what was coming. 

  
“What? Why can’t I help you with that? You know I support you, am on your side, why would you keep this from me?” Peter asks petulantly, crowding into Tony’s space. 

  
“Because technically you aren’t a part of the team Pete,” Tony points out. “You can’t be there and while I do appreciate your support, unfortunately it doesn’t change anything. I gotta deal with this, and honestly, don’t really want to talk about it, just be with you while I can be.”

  
Peter looks down, still looking hurt but he nods, understanding. Tony hadn’t intended to be so harsh, but he needed Peter to drop it, to stop asking questions because the chances of him breaking and telling the whole truth were too great right now. But he hates the way he’s making Peter feel right now, it’s not fair, it’s not Peter’s fault all this shit is happening and Tony should be making the most of this time together, not making Peter feel bad. 

  
“Pete, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you, I really do appreciate your support baby, I do, I know you have my back and I’m so grateful for that because frankly I feel like you are the only one who does in this situation, so I’m sorry,” Tony says gently, hand cupping Peter’s cheek, making his dark chocolate eyes come up to his face, a worry line still between his brows but he relaxes and nods. “I just wanted tonight to be you and me, just about you and me, no one else, our time is precious and I want to just think about you, only you as much as possible when I’m with you.”

  
The frown line completely disappears as he nods at Tony, understanding as he leans his cheek into Tony’s hand. 

  
“Ok, I can do that, I want that too. From now on, when we get time together, it’s just about you and me,” Peter declares, leaning in to kiss Tony as though cementing it.

  
“Good,” Tony breathes out, feeling better because he absolutely didn’t want to leave tonight with them in a bad situation because he wasn’t sure if or when he’d get the chance to see Peter again. “May’s gonna be home soon right?”

  
“Uh yeah,” Peter says despondently, glancing at the clock. “We should get dressed, I gotta clean up the living room.”

  
“I’ll help,” Tony offers, giving Peter one more kiss before reaching for his pants. They dress quietly, trading t-shirts again wordlessly and then hurry out to the living room to clean up the pizza, plates and mess they’d made while dancing. The sound of an older car engine outside alerts both of them that she was home and they hurry back to the bedroom and Tony quickly gets the window open before turning, pulling Peter in and kissing him hard and thoroughly.

  
“I love you, I’ll talk to you later,” Peter says quickly, glancing at the door. 

  
“I love you too,” Tony says with a tight voice. “I love you more than anything baby.” 

  
Peter’s eyes search his face at that, hearing the emotion but the sound of a key in the lock doesn’t give him a chance to ask and Tony quickly dives out the window and starts scurrying up the steps to the roof before he collapses on his knees on the asphalt and starts sobbing. The fact that that might be the last time he ever sees Peter feels like someone just dropped a piano on his head, it’s crushing and overwhelming and so painful, the worst pain he’s ever felt and he can’t catch his breath for a long time. He hasn’t had a panic attack in a long time but this feels like the closest he’s had to one since the last one. He drops his head down, resting his forehead on his arms and stays this way for a long time, until he finally finds a way to stop crying. He needed to get home before the sun came up. If he needed to break down again, it needed to be in his own bedroom or shower or somewhere he wouldn’t be heard. But somewhere he wouldn’t be noticed missing from. 

  
Slowly unfurling from his cramped position, body stiff and sore, he taps the reactor and unleashes his suit, sailing off into the sky the minute the reflector panels are up and running. The compound is dark, mostly empty when he gets there and he slips through the window silently and puts the suit away. He glances at the camera, unsure if Peter is watching or not and keeps the lights off, slipping to the bathroom to wash his face, his cheeks tear stained, eyes puffy and red. He keeps Peter’s t-shirt on but strips down to his underwear and climbs into bed, his back to the camera. 

  
He doesn’t sleep, but he doesn’t expect to. He just prays he will get to see Peter again before Thanos arrives but a sense deep in his gut is telling him he’s not that lucky. 


	19. Chapter 19

The sun slowly makes its way into the sky outside his window, the color shifting from indigo to purple to red to yellow. He keeps his back to the camera, pretending to be asleep though he doubts Peter is buying it if he’s watching. He waits until after he knows Peter is at school to get up, lumbering into the bathroom, body stiff and tired. He gets changed, lovingly placing Peter’s t-shirt under his pillow before making his way out to the kitchen to find coffee. The place is just as empty and quiet as it was when he left last night and it makes him feel on edge. 

  
Grabbing his cup and refilling it he heads out the door to the office. He wasn’t really expected there, seeing as there was an actual Avengers level event going on, but he felt useless just sitting in the residential area and also just a little bit like he’d been left behind. He used to be the centre of the Avengers, a key member and his opinion was always sought but now, after the accords and Germany, he felt like a second-class citizen, that the more he was cozy with Ross and the government, the less the rest of them respected him. Even Rhodey was sick of his moodiness, and God knows Nick Fury really didn’t like him anymore. 

  
The office is busy when he gets there, agents scurrying around looking at data, running scans, monitoring activity and he feels even more useless. Somehow hanging out in the lab fixing phones and fiddling with random tech that he wasn’t even sure would be useful in this particular case didn’t seem all that important in the grand scheme. 

  
In an attempt to at least appear to be achieving something he works on adding a few new weapons to Mark L, adjusting reaction times and just making sure it is in perfect working order. Based on what Bruce had told them, fighting Thanos wasn’t easy, the bastard was huge and strong and only getting stronger with each stone so Tony wanted to be sure he had every piece of ammo possible to give it his best shot. 

  
He loses track of time as he works, and doesn’t notice the change in activity outside the lab until he realizes just how quiet it seems to have gotten. Retracting the suit, frown forming on his face, he steps out of the lab and finds no one around but he can definitely hear voices, a lot of them coming from the front glass paneling of the building. Following them, he catches on to their panicked tone the closer he gets and when he turns the last corner he finally sees why.

  
His mouth goes dry and eyes wide as he stares at the object rapidly descending from the sky into what looks like downtown New York. It’s huge, massive, a giant flying donut shape that is radiating energy and making the windows rattle from this far away. 

  
Mind catching up to his body and reflexes, he immediately taps the reactor and Mark L opens around him and he takes flight before it’s even finished, going through the atrium and through one of the glass doors just as his helmet is formed. He puts every bit of speed he can in and the donut just grows bigger and bigger in his visor. His screen lights up with a call from Bruce just as he gets to New York, starting to circle the giant ship, trying to get a read on it, the construction, materials, possible origination of it. 

  
“Tony! Where are you? Are you seeing this?” Bruce asks as soon as the call connects. 

  
“In the air, circling, we had any contact from anyone in it yet? Where are you right now?” Tony asks, eyes scanning the data as it flies past his eyes. F.R.I.D.A.Y. can’t find out much about it, other than basic materials that it’s constructed of and an idea of its internal structure. There is a frontal window area, obviously the cock pit but he’s informed by his computerized assistant that it is impenetrable. 

  
“Greenwich Village, Bleaker Street, this thing just landed right around the corner from us,” Bruce replies, he sounds breathless and Tony can hear the metallic whir of the machine as an echo and knows Bruce is outside looking at it. Changing direction he quickly calls up Bruce’s exact location and lands next to him seconds later, suit folding away so he can move and he quickly puts the AI glasses on. Strange and Wong are next to Banner on the street, staring just as wide eyed at the ship.

  
“You might wanna put that Time Stone in your back pocket, Doc!” Tony advises sternly, eyeing the pendent around the other man’s neck meaningfully.

  
“Might want to use it,” Strange replies, hands moving quickly to pull up what appears to be bands of armor around his arms, though they are threads of golden light, his cape blowing in the wind behind him. 

  
“F.R.I.D.A.Y., evacuate anyone south of 43rd Street, notify first responders,” Tony instructs.

  
“Will do,” the AI responds quickly.

  
Seconds later Strange launches an attack of sorts, a blast of wind that roars down the street and possibly across the city, clearing the air of the dust and debris being kicked up by the space ship and Tony has to admit that it’s a tiny bit impressive. The silence that follows is almost deafening until he notices two figures appearing at the base of the ship in a line of blue light. 

  
One is a huge being, bulky in shape with metal armor covering most of his body and a massive dangerous pick axe looking weapon in his hand. The other is small, thin, appears almost frail and his strange grey skin is wrinkled over his face. He doesn’t appear to have a nose but he’s the one who speaks first, his voice sharp.

  
“Hear me, and rejoice. You are about to die at the hands of the Children of Thanos. Be thankful, that your meaningless lives are now contributing to…” he intones, and Tony quickly loses patience. 

  
“I'm sorry, Earth is closed today. You better pack it up and get outta here.” he says sarcastically, the alien immediately frowning at him and turning his attention to Dr. Strange. 

  
“Stone keeper, does this chattering animal speak for you?” He asks Strange and Tony bristles.

  
“Certainly not, I speak for myself,” Strange replies, stepping forward and creating two golden shields that he holds up in front of himself. “You’re trespassing in this city and on this planet.” 

  
Wong steps up beside him, creating his own shields and it becomes clear that things are likely about to become physical in nature. 

  
“Get lost Squidward,” Tony quips, and the smaller being mutters a few things that Tony doesn’t hear but seconds later the much larger one drops his axe into the ground, digging up the pavement as he starts stalking towards them. 

  
“Banner, you want to get in on this?” He asks his friend who glances at him and back at the huge alien storming towards them.

  
“No, not really, but when do I ever get what I want?” He replies in a resigned voice. He then starts struggling and convulsing but ends up grunting and straining with only his neck turning green for a moment and Tony isn’t sure if the Hulk will make an appearance or the doctor will just end up shitting himself. 

  
“Been a while. Good to have you, buddy,” Tony urges as the alien gets even closer, and he glances at Bruce a few times meaningfully. 

  
“I just... I need to concentrate here for one second. Come on, come on, man,” Bruce spits out as the grunting and straining intensifies. 

  
“Where’s your guy?” Tony demands quickly, panic starting to rise in his chest. He was armed to the teeth and clearly Strange had some tricks up his sleeve but a Hulk would be a major help right now. 

  
“I’m trying Tony, we’re sort of havin’ a thing” Bruce groans out, neck turning green for a few seconds again, the Hulk’s voice coming through long enough to say no before disappearing. 

  
“There’s no time for a thing,” Tony declares.

  
“I know!” Bruce replies hotly.

  
“That’s the thing right there, let’s go man,” Tony points at the advancing alien, voice rising in pitch. 

  
Bruce tries again but fails just as miserably and Tony shakes his head.

  
“You’re embarrassing me in front of the wizards,” he says sarcastically.

  
“Tony, I'm sorry,” Bruce stammers outs, hands flailing. “Either I can't or he won’t…”

  
“It's okay. Hey, stand down,” Tony concedes, knowing that it’s not really Bruce’s fault. “Keep an eye on him. Thank you,” he asks Wong before moving forward himself, tapping the reactor and unleashing his suit in three steps. A second later he launches his newest weapon, a set of blasters that unlock from his shoulders like wings, the force of which knock the huge alien all the way back to his friend. 

  
“Where’d that come from?” Bruce asks in awe, eyes wide as he looks at the new weapon. 

  
“It’s nano-tech. You like? A little someth…” Tony starts before being knocked out of the way by a tree root and other debris coming out of the ground. He returns in time to see Strange push Bruce through one of his teleportation doors to safety before Tony turns his attention back to the fight, reigniting his thrusters and launching a taxi at the smaller alien, who clearly has some serious telekinetic powers. The alien simply cuts the vehicle in half, not even flinching as it sails by him on either side harmlessly, his thin white hair ruffling slightly in the breeze. 

  
“Gotta get that stone outta here, now,” Tony demands.

  
“It stays with me,” Strange replies defiantly and Tony rolls his eyes.

  
“Exactly. Bye.” Tony says snidely, knowing full well the wizard wasn’t going anywhere or willing to listen to sense apparently. 

  
Tony points himself in the creature’s direction, shooting towards him quickly hoping to get close enough to take him out but he finds his way constantly barred by various debris and pipes and dirt shooting out of the ground as the alien flicks a few fingers. He only makes it half way before something huge and hard hits him square in the chest and shoves him through a building to a park where he cuts a long gash into the grass and lands in a heap against a tree, breathless and slightly dizzy.

  
Bruce is in front of him a moment later, staring down in worry.

  
“Tony, you okay? How we doing? Good? Bad?” He asks quickly, eyes darting all over Tony’s mask.

  
“Really, really good. Really good,” Tony replies tersely, still catching his breath from the crash landing. “Do you plan on helping out?”

  
“I’m trying, he won’t come out,” Bruce damn near whines, shoulders dropping in defeat. 

  
Tony is about to respond when he sees the huge heavy thing coming their way again.

  
“Hammer!” He yells, shoving Bruce out of the way, the other man landing in some bushes a few feet away. 

  
Using a laser, Tony quickly tries to cut the huge alien in half but the beam simply deflects off of his shield, several trees becoming casualties in the resulting redirection, one almost landing on Bruce. 

  
Seconds later the alien is on Tony, knocking him on his back on the ground as he lifts his hammer to deliver a decisive blow but it stops a few feet away from Tony, who realizes he had turned his head and closed his eyes so he wouldn’t have to see it coming.

  
“Hey, man. What’s up, Mr. Stark?” Comes Peter’s voice and Tony’s eyes snap open in surprise, happiness and terror fighting for position in his chest. He knows Pete is being formal because they are in public but Tony isn’t sure he cares who sees what right now but decides to play along anyway, just in case.

  
“Kid, where’d you come from?” He asks as he looks up at Peter easily holding the alien at bay. The alien looks entirely non-plussed by this tiny human in a red and blue suit pushing him back. 

  
“Field trip to MoMA,” Peter replies, his tone telling Tony that he had already told him he was going there and obviously Tony had forgotten. 

  
The alien decides he’s had enough and grabs ahold of Peter, and he screams as the alien wraps his huge hand right around him and throws him off to the side, making Tony’s breath catch in his throat, but he gets up quickly, showing that he’s fine and comes right back to try to keep fighting.

  
“What is this guy’s problem, Mr. Stark?” Pete asks, clearly he assumes it’s an open channel and everyone can hear them. 

  
“He’s from space. He came here to steal a necklace from a wizard,” Tony replies, quickly getting back up and taking on the larger alien again. He’s just deflecting a hit when Strange goes sailing by, looking like a flying corpse in his cape with the smaller alien on his tail and Tony wonders what in hell happened but decides to worry about that later. First they needed to keep that stone safe, which meant keeping Strange safe apparently. 

  
“Kid, that’s the wizard. Get on it.” Tony instructs and Peter immediately gives chase behind the flying doctor. 

  
“On it!” 

  
Tony tries to keep an eye on him but they are gone quickly and he needs to focus on not being flattened by the big angry alien. Without help, he’s no match against the beast and he finds himself on the ground more times than not. Peter is still in his ear and Tony hears him muttering curse words and complaints as he fights his way towards Strange, before managing to get a web on him. Then his tone turns more panicked and Tony’s heart drops.

  
“Uhhh, Mr. Stark? I’m being beamed up?” He says quickly and Tony glances towards the donut and sees the blue beam and the figures sliding up it. 

  
“Hang on, kid,” Tony hurries out, the hammer flying towards him suddenly and pinning him to the ground, electrocuting and shorting out his suit. The alien rushes towards him, blades out and ready for the kill shot but a portal appears out of nowhere and he falls through it before he can stop himself. The door closes behind him and Wong stands there looking serious as ever, hands still in front of him in position. 

  
Pulling himself out from under the hammer axe thing, Tony nods at Wong. 

  
“Wong, I like you,” he says by way of thanks before returning his attention to the sky. “Give me a little juice F.R.I.D.A.Y.” He instructs and his leg thrusters quickly morph into one jet propulsion unit, shooting him into the sky with impressive speed. As he gets closer, he can see Peter struggling to keep a hold of Strange but the increasing altitude is clearly having an effect on him.

  
“Unlock 17A,” Tony quickly instructs F.R.I.D.A.Y., wanting to get a suit on Peter before he was too far up and was killed by the atmosphere. “Pete, you gotta let go. I’m gonna catch you.”

  
“But you said to save the wizard!” Peter points out, voice strained. “I can’t breathe!”

  
“You’re too high up. You’re running out of air,” Tony yells, panic clear in his voice. He can’t watch Peter die like this.

  
“Yeah! That makes sense,” Peter half-heartedly agrees before yanking his mask off and losing consciousness and starting to fall. Tony puts every ounce of power he has into his thrusters to get to the younger man but knows he won’t be fast enough before his body hits the huge ship and the rolling engines. He about cries and screams in relief when 17A gets there just in time to catch him, wrapping around his lithe frame and breaking his fall against the ship, seconds later he revives and is back in Tony’s ear.

  
“It smells like a new car in here,” he quips and Tony laughs once. He just wants to grab Pete and get him home safely, worry about Strange and the stone later but Peter has other ideas. 

  
Reflexes as fast as ever, Peter resumes his hold on the wizard, giving a final strong yank with a few more added webs and the doctor comes free from the blue light, tumbling towards Peter and knocking him off of the ship where they both start falling back towards earth. 

  
“Peter! Hang on!” Tony yells, redirecting himself. Pushing his suit into Mach speed, Tony zooms towards them both and gets ahold of Strange first and then Peter, pulling him close and lowering them down at a much more comfortable and controlled speed. Peter glances up, looking to make sure they weren’t being followed and breathes a sigh of relief.

  
“The ship is leaving, I guess they gave up,” he says with a shake of his head. 

  
“I wouldn’t count on that,” Tony says gravely, knowing that this was definitely not over. 

  
They land back in the park, Tony setting his cargo down gently and Wong hurries over to check on his boss. The doctor groans from the grass, rubbing his face and slowly sitting up and looking around. As reality settles in, he goes back on high alert. 

  
“Where are they?” He asks quickly, hands already moving to create armor. 

  
“Gone, for the minute, you still got that stone?” Tony asks and then immediately regrets the question when Peter’s head snaps up and his body turns to face Tony full on. 

  
“Yes, a simple spell but he couldn’t remove it from my body,” Dr. Strange replies, glancing down at the pendent. “This isn’t over, they will be back.”

  
“We know,” Bruce agrees, brushing bits of leaves off of his sweater. 

  
“How did you get me away from them?” Strange asks Tony, frowning slightly in confusion. 

  
“I didn’t, he did,” Tony replies, thumbing towards Peter who turns towards them and waves awkwardly. 

  
“Hey, hi, nice to meet you, I’m Peter, Peter Parker,” he rambles out, retracting the mask to greet the stranger properly. 

  
“Dr. Strange, thank you, for what you did,” the doctor replies, standing up and brushing debris off of himself before holding a hand out to Peter to shake.

  
“Oh, we’re using made up names, I’m Spiderman,” Peter adds, and Tony smiles, glad that the mask hides it. 

  
“We need to regroup, figure out a plan, we can’t just stay here like sitting ducks,” Strange continues, ignoring Peter’s comment. 

  
“Agreed,” Tony states evenly. “The compound, let’s get there, get in touch with Natasha and the others, tell them what happened.”

“Yeah, first, I’m gonna need to talk to you Mr. Stark,” Peter says just as evenly, staring at Tony with a serious expression, his eyes fierce. He had questions, a lot of them clearly and he wasn’t happy. 

  
“Pete, you need to get home, stay safe ok, I’ll talk to you later,” Tony says quietly as Strange, Bruce and Wong start walking across the park away from them. 

  
“Fuck you Tony, not a chance in hell, tell me what is going on,” Peter replies angrily once the others are out of earshot. 

  
“Banner, get them to the compound, I’ll catch up,” Tony yells before grabbing Peter and taking off, holding him tight despite his protests and struggling, until they land safely on the roof of Peter’s building. 

  
The second they are down, Peter shoves Tony away and glares at him furiously. Tony retracts his own mask and stares at him as calmly as he can, determined to protect him still. 

  
“Start talking now,” he demands. 

  
“Peter, stop, you aren’t getting involved in this, it’s too dangerous, please just go inside, stay safe, alright?” Tony says gently, hating the patronizing way he sounded right then. 

  
“I’m already involved!” Peter shouts. “Did you not just see everything that happened? I think I deserve to know the fucking truth at this point. Stop treating me like a fucking child, I just saved your ass, you know that, I saved that Strange guy too, and yet you don’t think I can help?”

  
Tony opens his mouth to protest again, but he realizes Peter is right. He’s in an adult relationship with Tony, yet Tony is still treating him like a kid when it comes to this and that’s not fair. Peter has more than proven himself time and again. And Tony would have been squashed by that alien in the park had it not been for Peter. He at least could tell Peter the truth, though he still wasn’t sure he wanted Peter involved, but that was more his own selfish issues than anything. 

  
“They were here for the Time Stone, it’s one of the six infinity stones, Dr. Strange is the keeper of it,” Tony starts by way of explanation and Peter frowns in confusion. “Maybe I should start more at the beginning.” 

  
He explains about Thanos, and the mad man’s plan, and how he was involved in the attack on New York a few years ago and why he was back. Peter’s confusion melts away to horror as he hears the full scale of it, what Thanos planned to do and Tony hates to see the fear and sadness in his beautiful brown eyes but he understood the sentiments. 

  
“So there are two stones here on earth, Dr. Strange has one, Vision has the other, can we keep them safe? How do we stop him?” Peter asks quietly, stepping closer to Tony. 

  
“I don’t know, I honestly don’t, but we have to do something,” he says dumbly and Peter nods.

  
“Why the hell would you keep this from me?” Peter demands, back to being annoyed again. “Why would you not let me help? Clearly this has been weighing on you, I knew something was wrong but you wouldn’t tell me? How is that fair? How is this a real relationship when you are hiding shit from me?”

“Ok, this isn’t just some confession about looking at porn or breaking something and lying about it Pete, this is much bigger and I was trying to protect you, honestly I was, because I’m terrified myself about what’s going to happen and the thought of losing you… I just couldn’t bring you into it,” Tony admits and Peter shakes his head, rubbing his face with one hand.

  
“Tony, if Thanos wins, you could lose me anyway, or I could lose you, but I’d much rather fight back and know what’s going on than be in the dark, just wake up one day and you’re gone,” Peter points out, frowning again at Tony and Tony nods, looking down. He was right. 

  
“I know Pete, I know, I’m sorry, I really am,” he says sadly, moving closer to Peter, pressing his forehead against the younger man’s to feel grounded again. 

  
“What the fuck?” A shrill voice interrupts them, screeching across the roof and they both jump and separate and turns towards the source. 

  
May stands just at the top of the fire escape, long hair blowing in the wind and eyes wide in shock behind her oversized glasses. Tony backs away from Peter even further, preparing himself for the onslaught about him being with Peter, being there at all but then he realizes she’s not staring at him, she’s staring at Peter, or more specifically, what Peter is wearing. The Iron Spider suit, 17A. Tony had designed it as another option for Peter and it clearly designates who his alter ego is. 

  
“May, I can explain,” Peter starts, hurrying towards her. 

  
“What?… You?…” She stumbles out, hand coming up to her head while the other points at Peter. 

  
Peter stops moving and looks down at himself and then back at her. 

  
“Yeah, I’m Spiderman,” he says bluntly, mouth a tight line as he watches her reaction. 

  
“What?” She manages to get out. “You’ve been that guy this whole time?”

  
“Um, yeah, it’s a long story, I wanted to tell you but I knew you’d freak out and I didn’t want to worry you after Ben and everything,” Peter hurries out and May finally starts to collect her senses again, eyes flicking to Tony and then back to Peter before returning to Tony, more heated this time.

  
“Did you do this?” She demands, scrambling up on to the roof and starting to storm towards Tony, small hands balling into fists. She doesn’t get close enough to swing, Peter quickly steps in her way and stops her with firm hands on her arms. 

  
“No, Tony had nothing to do with me becoming Spiderman, it happened before I even met him for the first time,” he tells her firmly. “He’s been helping me, designing suits for me that keep me safer and supporting me, it’s what really brought us together.”

  
Breathing hard, May continues to glare at Tony for a few seconds longer before turning it on Peter. 

  
“He’s not helping you, if that’s what you think this is,” she declares and Tony sees Peter shake his head in exasperation.

  
“We aren’t getting into that again, he isn’t what caused me to become this way, but he has been helping me,” Peter says tersely. 

  
“Then what did? How the hell did this even happen? God, you’ve been risking your life! I’ve seen it on the news Peter, what the hell?” She wails, hand on her head again.

  
“Um, do you remember when I was interning at Oscorp?” Peter starts and Tony perks up and listens himself. He had a vague idea of what had happened to Peter, but he’d never actually gone into specifics. “Well, they were doing some sort of biological stuff there, and had created radioactive spiders, to put it simply and I accidentally got bit by one of them and the next morning, I woke up like this.”

  
“Like this?” She repeats, frowning at him in confusion. 

  
“Yeah, like enhanced, really strong and fast and well… sticky,” he replies with a shrug. 

  
“Huh,” she replies ineloquently, staring at him wide eyed still. 

  
“Look, May, I’m ok, alright? Please don’t worry but we need to go, we have something we need to go take care of and I need you to just go inside, stay there and stay safe and I will call you when it’s over, ok?” Peter says quickly and she immediately frowns and glares at Tony again.

  
“You aren’t going anywhere with him,” she declares. “If it’s dangerous, you stay here, you shouldn’t even be around him anyway, I told you that,” she points out and Tony starts. He starts to realize that what Peter had been telling him about his and May’s relationship and conversations wasn’t quite the entire truth. And Peter had just given him shit for lying and hiding stuff.

  
“May, I have to, I’m part of it now, it’s my job,” he tries to reason with her calmly, glancing back at Tony for help. 

  
“He’s an Avenger, we need him,” Tony offers and Peter glances back at him again, a quick smile on his lips. 

  
“I’m part of the team, this isn’t about Tony and I, it’s about all of us and we need to go, I promise I will call you, but we have to go now,” Peter says firmly, hands on his aunts shoulders to emphasize it as he keeps eye contact with her. 

  
“If something happens to you,” she chokes out, eyes filling and Tony feels immense guilt wash over him. 

  
“I’ll be fine May,” Peter tries to promise but it even sounds a bit false in Tony’s ears. They both know he can’t promise that really. “Please, stay safe, stay inside ok?”

May stares at him a little longer but eventually nods. She was clearly overwhelmed with all of this but understood it was bigger than her now and that she really didn’t have any control over Peter, not in the way she thought she did. 

  
She pulls him in to a tight hug, muttering about how she didn’t like it but she lets him go, stepping back and giving Tony one more fierce glare. 

  
“I love you May,” Peter tells her gently, before heading towards Tony, the helmet on the suit quickly coming up to hide his stricken face and he waits for Tony to pick him up and take flight, carrying them both to the compound. 

  
Her reply is hidden in the sound of the thrusters starting and Tony wraps his arms around Pete, cradling him as he heads up into the sky. May shrinks down to a small dot before she’s no longer visible and they fly quickly towards the compound. He wishes he could think of something to say, to make Peter feel better, to reassure him, but he knows there’s nothing. 

  
They both know it. 


	20. Chapter 20

The compound is bustling when they get back and Tony notes the Quinjet parked outside with some apprehension. Wanting to avoid people, or at least a lot of people, Tony quickly heads for the garage entrance and sets down gently, letting Pete go as soon as they are on the ground and the two of them quickly walk inside and head upstairs. Tony retracts the suit as they go and Pete retracts the helmet of the Iron Spider suit, his hair ruffling slightly as they pass under a ventilation fan. He has to admit, Peter looks damn good in the new suit, it fits him like a glove and the metallic sheen really highlights his ass nicely. If Tony chooses to follow him a little as they head into the elevator, well he can’t be blamed and besides, with everything going on, it’s nice to have something pretty to look at. He might even give it a quick squeeze as they glide upwards, earning him a smirk from Peter. 

  
The second they step off the elevator they are greeted by Rhodey, motioning for Tony to come into the War Room. He rounds the corner and finds the holographic images of the council all bearing down on the room, looking rather unimpressed and Tony feels a little incensed. 

  
“Still no word from Vision?” Secretary Ross asks in a demanding tone.

  
“Satellites lost him somewhere over Edinburgh,” Rhodey replies easily, as though this was perfectly normal. Tony gives him a questioning look, wondering what in hell is going on. Had Natasha found Steve? Were they still looking for Vision?

  
“On a stolen Quinjet with four of the world’s most wanted criminals,” barks Ross in reply and Tony gets all of his answers at once. So Nat had found Steve and conversely, they had found Vision. His stomach clenches, they were likely heading this way right now. 

  
“You know they’re only criminals because you’ve chosen to call them that, right, sir?” Rhodey challenges and Ross glances at Tony, as though expecting him to support him but Tony keeps his mouth shut. Peter hovers by the door, attempting to appear small and unnoticeable. 

  
“My God, Rhodes, your talent for horseshit rivals my own,” Ross grumbles.

  
“If it weren’t for those Accords, Vision would’ve been right here,” Rhodey points out. 

  
“I remember your signature on those papers, Colonel,” Ross points out angrily. “Yours too Stark, or are you just pretending that didn’t happen?” 

  
“My mistake,” Tony replies easily.

  
“That’s right,” Rhodes responds to Ross with the same airiness, moving so his full body is in view of the Secretary. “And I’m pretty sure I’ve paid for that,” he points out as his leg braces become fully visible. Ross shrinks slightly, looking only a tiny bit shameful. 

  
“You having second thoughts?” Ross asks.

  
“Not anymore,” Rhodey replies simply as the door to the War Room opens and Tony turns to see Nat, Steve, Sam, Wanda and an injured Vision enter the room. He tenses as he looks at Steve again after so long, a mixture of emotions rolling through him. Cap looks a little worse for wear, his hair longer and a thick beard covering half of his face. His eyes are still the same though, sharp and inquisitive. Tony is just glad to see that he hasn’t brought Bucky with him. Steve glances at him once and then at Pete, who is throwing some very impressive visual daggers Cap’s way from his position against the wall. The fury in the young man’s face seems to take Steve by surprise for a moment and he glances back at Tony, face unreadable before refocusing on the council. 

  
“Mr. Secretary,” he says by way of greeting, making Ross bristle visibly. 

  
“You got some nerve. I’ll give you that,” the councillor replies.

  
“You could use some of that right now,” Nat counters bravely. Tony notes how the group of them are standing in a line, a show of support but also of defiance, they were a team and Tony wasn’t with them right now, wasn’t a part of that he felt. 

  
“The world’s on fire. And you think all is forgiven?” Ross asks snidely.

  
“I’m not looking for forgiveness,” Steve says bluntly. “And I’m way past asking for permission. If you want to stand in our way, we’ll fight you too.”

  
“Arrest them!” Ross demands, staring at Rhodey as though expecting him to just immediately obey. 

  
“All over it,” Rhodey replies before quickly ending the hologram meeting. “That’s a court-martial for me, it’s great to see you, Cap,” he smiles, stepping forward to hug Steve and then the others. 

  
“You too, Rhodey,” Steve replies, glancing at Tony again, his own body tense and he seems to think about approaching but changes his mind a second later at the cold look Tony feels himself giving. He feels movement beside him and turns his head to find Peter next to him, arms crossed over his chest and face neutral but closed off. It makes him feel better to have support, he has to admit. 

  
“Well, you guys really look like crap, must’ve been a rough couple of years,” Rhodey says good-naturedly to Cap and Sam who both laugh congenially and Tony’s jaw tightens. It would seem that Rhodey was all about forgiving and forgetting right now and Tony knows he should be too, that this wasn’t about him. But he has no idea how to start the conversation, for once he has absolutely no idea what to say. 

  
“Yeah, well, the hotels weren’t exactly five star,” Steve says with a smile. 

  
“Uh, I think you look great,” Bruce says quietly from the other side of the room and Tony’s own head snaps up. He hadn’t even noticed Bruce standing there, Dr. Strange next to him, looking a little more conscious, his cape wrapped around his shoulders again. “Uh… hey, yeah, I’m back,” Bruce stutters out, giving an awkward wave. 

  
“Hi, Bruce,” Nat says quietly, eyes wide.

  
“Nat,” Bruce replies with a slight wince. 

  
“This is awkward,” Sam mutters quietly.

  
“Right, well, we are all here, let’s get everyone caught up,” Rhodey announces, clapping his hands together. 

  
Bruce quickly fills everyone in about Thanos, what he was after and planning to do and there are shared looks of horror by Steve and Sam, Wanda and Vision as they hear it all, bodies visibly wilting with the enormity of it. 

  
“What happened to you guys in Edinburgh?” Rhodes asks Vision and Wanda, who quickly relay the attack they had faced and Steve and Nat fill in from the point when they became involved. 

  
It would seem that Thanos had sent two groups of soldiers to retrieve the stones at the same time, a sort of divide and conquer mission. Thankfully the good guys had won both times, but that didn’t mean it was over. 

  
“Tony, do you want to give us the run down on what went on in New York?” Rhodey asks when they are done, startling Tony from his thoughts and his mouth opens and closes a few times before he’s able to even know where to start.

  
“Uh, big donut, landed in the city, they were after the stone the good Doctor over there has,” he replies awkwardly, knowing that it wasn’t much of an explanation and Dr. Strange eyes him curiously before stepping forward to pick up and fill in all of the blanks that Tony had left. He shows them the time stone and tells them the same crap about how he swore an oath to protect it and all of that again and Tony quietly rolls his eyes. “It is thanks to Mr. Parker over there that we still have possession over this stone,” Dr. Strange finishes and Tony’s head snaps up again before turning to look at Peter, who stands stock still looking a bit stunned. 

  
“I mean, it was what Mr. Stark told me to do,” Peter says quickly, wide eyes flitting around. The others all stare at him a bit curiously, some seeming to just figure out now that he was in the room to begin with. They all know who he is based on the spider on his suit but they seem genuinely surprised to see a kid wearing it. Tony wants to tersely tell them all that he’s not really a kid, he’s very mature for his age and they better respect him, but decides against it. 

  
“Good work,” Steve says to Peter, nodding at him and Peter responds by tightening his mouth and closing off again, showing his clear dislike of the Captain and when Steve glances at Tony again it’s clear that he knows Peter’s opinion is Tony’s doing. 

  
“So we gotta assume they’re coming back, right?” Rhodey asks a moment later, changing the subject and taking the focus off of Tony and Peter. 

  
“And they can clearly find us,” Wanda points out bluntly. 

  
“We need all hands on deck, where’s Clint?” Bruce asks, turning to Nat. 

  
“After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott took a deal,” she replies, eyes flicking to Tony. “It was too tough on their families, they’re on house arrest.”

  
“Who’s Scott?” Bruce asks, brows furrowed in confusion behind his black frames. 

  
“Ant-Man,” Steve supplies. 

  
“There’s an Ant-Man and a Spider-Man?” Bruce breathes out, staring at Peter for a moment before shaking his head and turning back to the others. “Okay, look… Thanos has the biggest army in the universe, and he’s not gonna stop until he gets all the stones.”

  
“Well then, we have to protect them,” Nat replies. “Dr. Strange, you think you can protect that one?” She asks and the Doctor nods and Tony wants to very much point out that he did a shit job the last time. “Ok, Vision’s stone, how do we protect it?”

  
“We don’t,” Vision replies. “We have to destroy it. I’ve been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head, about its nature, but also, its composition. I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something very similar to its own signature perhaps… its molecular integrity could fail.” He turns towards Wanda and looks at her meaningfully and she immediately shakes her head. 

  
“And you, with it,” she replies angrily. “We’re not having this conversation.”

  
“Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can’t get it,” Vision points out. 

  
“That’s too high a price,” Wanda argues.

  
“Only you have the power to pay it,” Vision says gently, hands on Wanda’s cheeks and Tony notes that their relationship has clearly gotten closer. People want to judge him about his relationship with Peter, meanwhile there’s Wanda and Vision, who is an AI for crying out loud. Hell, even Nat and Bruce was a bit weird, what with the Hulk third wheeling. “Thanos threatens half the Universe. One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him.” 

  
Tony feels Peter move slightly beside him and glances at his face and finds him staring sort of curiously and thoughtfully at Dr. Strange. He nudges the younger man gently with his shoulder, getting his attention and Peter’s eyes meet his and he head shakes once before turning away. 

  
“But it should,” Steve pipes up, walking towards Vision and Wanda. “We don’t trade lives, Vision,” he says in his noble man voice that Tony hates. 

  
“Captain, 70 years ago, you laid down your life to save how many millions of people, tell me, why is this any different?” Vision asks him. 

  
“Because you might have a choice,” Bruce cuts in. “Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. J.A.R.V.I.S., Ultron, Tony, me, the stone. All of them mixed together, all of them learning from one another.”

  
“You’re saying Vision isn’t just the stone?” Wanda asks, hope glimmering in her eyes. 

  
“I’m saying that if we take out the stone, there’s still a whole lot of Vision left, perhaps the best parts,” Bruce replies with a shrug. 

  
“Can we do that?” Nat asks, turning towards Tony who shrugs himself. He understood what Bruce was getting at, but he couldn’t feasibly see how it could be done. He wasn’t even sure how the stone was attached at this point, since clearly evolution had been taking place. 

  
“I could look,” Tony offers. 

  
“No, not here, not us,” Bruce says quickly, his eyes darting around as his mind works a mile a minute to try to solve this riddle. 

  
“You better find someone, and somewhere fast,” Rhodey points out. “Ross isn’t exactly just gonna let you guys have your old rooms back.”

  
“I know somewhere,” Steve says suddenly. “Everyone, pack up, we leave in twenty,” he instructs before strolling out of the room, heading for the elevator.

“Well that wasn’t cryptic at all,” Tony quips, shaking his head once and nudging Pete again before heading for the door. He needs out of this room, it was too stifling, too full of heady shit. He heads towards his bedroom, Pete on his heels and closes the door behind them when they are inside. He realizes after the fact that this behaviour, taking Pete to his bedroom was likely causing a lot of confusion but he figures at this point, it doesn’t even matter. 

  
“What’s going on in that head of yours, why were you staring at Strange like he had a mustard stain on his chin?” Tony asks Peter the second they are alone. 

  
“Nothing, I just, I mean,” Peter stutters out, eyes flicking from Tony’s face and away a few times. “I was just thinking about how that stone works, the time stone, I mean, can it alter time? Do you think?”

  
“No idea,” Tony replies after a moment. The doctor hadn’t exactly been that forthcoming about what it did, just that it was the time stone and he was guarding it with his life. “Why?”

  
“I don’t know, I mean, it’s probably stupid,” Peter shakes his head and looks down. 

  
“Hey, no, out with it,” Tony says gently, fingers under Peter’s chin, lifting his face. “You are smarter and more intuitive than anyone I’ve ever met and something tells me you’ve figured something out that no one else in that room has even considered.”

  
“It’s just, something, I mean, when Vision said, to destroy the stone in his head, what if that’s not enough,” Peter stumbles out, hands waving in the air slightly. “Ok, so, we destroy the stone in Vision’s head right? Well, if the time stone can alter time, and if Thanos gets the time stone, doesn’t that mean he could just turn back time and undo us destroying the mind stone?”

  
Tony stops dead, breath caught in his throat. Peter was right, if that time stone was capable of altering time, then it wasn’t the mind stone they needed to be most concerned with protecting, it was the green one in the pendent around Dr. Strange’s neck. 

  
“I think you may be right, but Strange isn’t gonna let us destroy the time stone, he’s made that pretty fucking clear,” Tony points out with a sigh. 

“Then we better hope we can protect it,” Peter replies, sounding concerned.

  
“Five minutes guys,” Nat’s voice informs them outside the door, her boots moving away down the hall. 

  
Tony glances at the door and then back at Pete, his soulful brown eyes looking up at him and he decides that they best make the most of these few minutes and his hand comes up to cup the younger man’s cheek lovingly, thumb brushing across his cheekbone before he leans in and kisses him. It’s not erotic or passionate, but deep and meaningful. Something to hold on to as they head into what is basically war at this point. 

  
“Let’s go Tony,” Nat shouts at them and they separate unwillingly, nodding at each other before heading for the door and out to the waiting Quinjet. 


	21. Chapter 21

The flight is quiet, tense. After Steve had informed them they were going to Wakanda because they potentially possessed the technology necessary to get the stone out of Vision’s head, there had been quite a lot of questions and balking and then not much more had been said. 

  
Tony has never been to Wakanda before, and can’t help the curiosity fluttering in his chest about it. He’d seen what they could do via the Black Panther and his impressive suit, the use of Vibranium incredibly inventive and beyond anything he had thought of himself. The nerdy engineer scientist side of him is a little excited about this trip honestly. 

  
But that doesn’t mean he’s thrilled about being on this trip. The tension is thick in the Quinjet, everyone splintering off into groups and Tony and Peter quickly position themselves near the back of the plane, away from everyone else. As much as they can be anyway. Their hands brush a few times and Tony is highly tempted to take Peter’s to hold it tightly, remind himself that he’s there and solid but there are too many eyes, particularly when Strange decides to plonk down on the floor not far from them in some sort of meditative position. Tony is about to make a comment when the other man starts behaving very strangely and both he and Peter stare at him in shock.

  
He unlocks the Time Stone from its safe place in his pendent and it starts glowing while he positions his hands in a complicated sort of pattern, closes his eyes and then his motions start to move so quickly they become blurry as he floats up off the floor of the plane. 

  
It’s not long before the rest of the aircraft’s inhabitants start to take notice, all moving nearby to watch, the jet on autopilot so even Steve and Sam can come have a look at the phenomena.

  
“Does your friend do this normally?” Natasha asks, glancing at Tony with her brows furrowed.

  
“He’s not my friend,” Tony replies evenly. “Strange? We alright?” He asks the doctor.

  
Seconds later he drops back down onto the floor and gasps out a sharp noise of surprise, falling forward before catching himself and looking up at the assembled audience.

  
“You’re back, you’re alright,” Tony says quietly, crouching down in front of him but Strange’s eyes fix over his shoulder on Peter. 

  
“Hey, what was that?” Peter asks him, standing close behind Tony. 

  
“I went forward in time to view alternate futures, to see all of the possible outcomes of the coming conflict,” he replies, breathing hard, eyes dropping closed.

  
“Well, how many did you see?” Bruce asks, voice awed. 

  
“Fourteen million, six hundred and five,” Strange replies, eyes still closed, his hand rubbing his forehead. 

  
“How many did we win?” Tony asks, heart pounding in his chest painfully in fear. 

  
Strange opens his eyes again and stares at Tony for a long moment before turning them back to Peter, his gaze intense as he stares at the younger man meaningfully. 

  
“One,” he replies a long moment later. 

  
“One? Just one?” Steve cuts in. “What do we do? How do we win this?”

  
Strange turns towards him and shakes his head slightly. 

  
“If I tell you what happens, it won’t happen,” the doctor answers simply, unfolding himself from the floor gracefully and standing up, brushing dust off of himself. He reserves one more quick glance at Peter before heading aft in the plane and looking out the window. 

  
“What the fuck?” Peter mutters behind Tony when he stands up as well and they lock eyes for a second before turning to look at the back of Strange’s head. 

  
With nothing more being said on the subject, but everyone eyeing the wizard strangely, they all resume their positions and Sam sits back down in the pilot’s chair.

  
“Drop to 2600, heading 0-3-0,” Steve tells him as he comes up behind him. 

  
“I hope you’re right about this Cap, or we’re gonna land a lot faster than you want to,” Sam mutters out, voice a bit concerned as they start to head towards a ridge line of rock and trees. The sight makes Tony move towards the front of the plane himself, he’s about to tell Sam to pull up as they approach, fear coursing through him when suddenly the trees disappear, the lines of a camouflage force field breaking as they sail into the open air above the most beautiful city Tony has ever seen. It’s built within a valley, a thick river running through it with tall, sharp, modern buildings springing up everywhere like shards of glass, the sun shining golden on their side. Below the tall buildings are hundreds of smaller structures in a variety of bright, cheerful colours. Sleek cars maneuver down the clean, neat streets and market stalls and long walkways through gardens are just barely visible. 

  
Sam guides the plane along the river towards a huge palace with direction from Steve before landing neatly on a pristine wide pad outside. Everyone exchanges glances with each other as the gate opens before they start descending down to greet King T’Challa. Okoye and the Dora Milaje coming towards them as guards. 

  
Steve and Natasha are at the helm of the group, both more familiar with the King than the others, while Peter and Tony bring up the rear. Tony isn’t sure what kind of welcome he’s going to get in this place, but figures he should stay close to the plane just in case. He does hear Bruce whispering to Rhodey about how he should greet the King and has to suppress a laugh when he tells him that he should bow. 

  
“Seems like I’m always thanking you for something,” Steve says by way of greeting, shaking T’Challa’s hand in a friendly manner. 

  
Seconds later, Bruce bows dramatically and immediately Rhodey admonishes him.

  
“What are you doing?” He asks in a fake horrified voice and Bruce falters, staring around with wide eyes. 

  
“Uh, we don’t do that here,” T’Challa says gently, motioning for Bruce to stand up and Tony can see the poor man’s ears turning red, but the King doesn’t say anything to embarrass him further and turns back to Steve. “So, how big of an assault can we expect?” He asks conversationally.

  
They all turn and start heading towards the palace while they talk and Tony and Peter stay at the back, though Tony can feel Okoye’s eyes on him for a long moment. 

  
“Uh, sir, I think you can expect quite a big assault,” Bruce informs him, glancing at Steve. 

  
“How we looking?” Nat asks. They had taken a few minutes to call ahead to T’Challa to fill him in on everything, to tell him to prepare an army because it was going to take one to take down Thanos. 

  
“You will have my King’s Guard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and…” T’Challa supplies congenially before everyone goes quiet as a figure steps forward and Tony’s heart leaps into his throat. 

  
“A semi-stable, 100-year-old man,” Bucky Barnes fills in as he greets Steve warmly, giving him a tight hug and the pieces click together in Tony’s head. This was why Steve knew so much about Wakanda, he was stashing the Winter Soldier here this whole time. He feels incensed and impressed all at once. 

  
He feels Peter tense up beside him, hands balling into fists as he glowers at Steve and Bucky, completely furious on Tony’s behalf. 

  
“Don’t,” Tony whispers, hand on Peter’s arm. “Not the time or place.”

  
“You’re ok with this?” Peter asks him, a little louder than he needed to, earning them a glance from Dr. Strange, who seems to disapprove of them existing at all based on his facial expression. 

  
“No, of course not, but considering the situation, I think we have bigger shit to worry about right now,” Tony replies quietly, staring at Peter meaningfully. “Pete, you know I appreciate your support, I do now as well, but in the grand scheme of things we need to deal with right now, I think Thanos comes out on top. It’s a matter of priorities.”

  
Peter’s mouth tightens into a thin line, eyes glaring towards Steve and Bucky once more before he turns back to Tony and nods once. 

  
“How you been Buck?” Steve asks with a laugh as they separate from their hug. 

  
“Uh, not bad, for the end of the world,” he replies easily and Tony can’t help the fury that slides through him just at the sound of the guy’s voice but he forces himself to quell it. He can’t help but note that this guy in front of him is not the same as the one he saw in the video murdering his parents. Rationally he knows that Bucky isn’t the same guy as the Winter Soldier mentally, that Hydra scrambled his brain and brainwashed him into being an assassin and that it’s actually very unlikely that Bucky, the real guy, would have done any of the shit the Winter Soldier did. But he still has the same face. That’s very very difficult to get past. 

  
The conversation carrying on they all head inside the palace where they decide to separate, with Vision, Wanda, Bruce, Nat and Steve going with T’Challa to see Princess Shuri in her lab to start working on the stone removal while the rest of the team is invited to join Okoye in war preparations. Rhodey stares at Tony, fully expecting him to join their group but as much as Tony had just told Peter they needed to stow their issues about Steve and Bucky, he finds he can’t stomach the idea of going with Bucky, so he opts to follow Bruce, claiming he wants to see the technology for himself. No one asks Peter, which he thinks is a bit rude, but when Peter makes it clear he’s going with Tony, there really isn't a need to ask anyway. 

  
Shuri’s lab and workshop are basically a candy land for Tony and he can’t help but stare a little in amazement as he takes in all of the equipment and technology that he wishes he had back home. He mentally starts taking notes, figuring that if he makes it out of this alive, he can build it himself back home. His eyes meet Peter’s a few moments after they walk in and he can tell Pete is thinking exactly the same thing and they both laugh once before quickly going and joining the others as they all crowd around Vision as he lays down on an examination table with Shuri standing above his head. 

  
Using a set of beads, Shuri scans the stone before flipping her hand over and a hologram projects up from her palm, showing all of the intricate and delicate structures of the stone and it’s connections to Vision’s mind. 

  
“Whoa, the structure is polymorphic,” she breaths out, eyes glowing at the golden threads of the hologram as she studies it thoroughly. 

  
“Right, we had to attach each neuron non-sequentially,” Bruce informs her. 

  
“Why didn’t you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?” She asks him and both Tony and Bruce come up short, eyes meeting for a moment. 

  
“Because… we didn’t think of it,” Bruce says uncertainly, glancing at Tony and Tony can’t help but feel a bit stupid for not thinking of it himself. 

  
“Oops,” Tony replies, shrugging slightly. 

  
“I’m sure you did your best,” Shuri replies, a touch smugly and he sees Peter smirk out of the corner of his eye. 

  
“Can you do it?” Wanda asks quickly before things got heated between all of the smart people in the room. 

  
“Yes, but there are more than two trillion neurons here. One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures,” she replies, voice a little concerned. “It will take time brother,” she tells T’Challa.

  
“How long?” Steve asks.

  
“As long as you can give me,” she replies bluntly. 

  
As if on cue, Okoye informs them suddenly that something has entered the atmosphere“Hey Cap, we got a situation out here,” Sam says over the radio and they all turn towards the windows. 

  
A black shard comes out of the sky barreling straight towards the palace but it explodes suddenly into a fireball as it hits the protective force field around the city.

Moments later several more shards descend, all of them landing in a row on the edge of the dome. The shock waves they create as they land extend outward, destroying forest land and roll up against the dome. The sound reaches the glass and rattles it, the floor vibrating and it sends a shard of panic through Tony. 

  
Panting and struggling, Vision hauls himself up from the table, trying to stand on wobbly legs from the injuries he sustained in Scotland. 

  
“It’s too late, we need to destroy the stone now,” he pants out.

  
“Vision, get your ass back on the table,” Nat says tersely.

  
“We will hold them off,” T’Challa informs the AI, motioning for his guard to follow him. 

  
“Wanda, as soon as the stone’s out of his head, you blow it to hell,” Steve tells the young woman as he turns to follow the King.

  
“I will,” Wanda promises, standing next to the table to look down at Vision fondly. Shuri takes her place above Vision’s head and gets to work, fingers moving quickly and gracefully as she starts redirecting each connected thread to disengage the stone without disengaging Vision entirely. 

  
The rest of them all follow T’Challa out the door and down outside, preparing themselves and Tony unleashes Mark L, the suit sliding into place over his body and Peter masks up, whites of his eyes narrowing as he focuses. 

  
“Evacuate the city, engage all defense procedures,” T’Challa says ahead of them to his guards who spring into action. He turns towards Steve and smiles softly and nods once. “And get this man a shield,” he adds and Tony rolls his eyes in his mask. 

  
Quickly the mass of soldiers assembles on the open field in front of where the alien ships have landed, the rows of them neat and tidy as they disembark from their vehicles and all of them armed to the teeth. Bruce seems especially pleased with the suit Tony designed for him. Tony had remembered it just as they were leaving the compound. 

  
“I got two heat signatures breaking through the tree line,” Rhodey says over the radio and two figures come into view on the other side of the dome. One is the same giant bastard Tony had fought in New York, looking more than just a little pissed. The other is a very tall woman with blue skin and black around her eyes, blending into her black hair. 

  
Suddenly, behind their own army, a massive group of warriors starts to approach, all of them chanting loudly. The leader stops next to T’Challa, nodding at him as he chants once more. They are huge, fierce looking soldiers, armed thoroughly and incredibly intimidating. Everyone else stares while T’Challa smiles softly, warmly at the leader. 

  
“Thank you for standing with us,” T’Challa tells the other man, a massive warrior dressed in tribal armor. The other man nods once and replies in his native language before refocusing his attention on the enemy. 

  
“Well, let’s go talk to them,” Steve says quietly, nodding at T’Challa, who puts his mask on and then Nat and then finally Tony, who is a touch surprised to be included since they had been basically ignoring him since they left New York. Even before that really. 

  
The four of them approach the two aliens cautiously, the woman testing the barrier with her sword before scowling at the humans as it fails to break through. 

  
“Where’s your other friend?” Nat asks her in a slightly mocking tone and Tony assumes she’s referring to the alien who they had stabbed in Scotland. 

  
“You will pay for his life with yours, Thanos will have those stones,” The tall female replies angrily, her voice harsh, a growling undercurrent to it. 

  
“That’s not gonna happen,” Steve replies evenly. 

  
“You are in Wakanda now, Thanos will have nothing but dust and blood,” T’Challa adds dramatically. 

  
“We, have blood to spare,” the female replies, a smirk on her lips as she lifts her sword and the doors on each of the ships start to open, a flood of hideous beastly creatures pouring out of them.

  
With the battle lines clearly drawn, the four quickly return to their own assembled masses. Tony gets back beside Peter, body tense as he prepares to fight and he nods at the younger man who immediately initiates his instant kill protocol, his eyes turning a menacing red. 

  
“Did they surrender?” Tony hears Bucky ask Steve sardonically. 

  
“Not exactly,” Steve replies. 

  
T’Challa leads his army in a war cry, issuing commands to the units while the tall female alien drops her sword as a signal for the attack to really begin and the snarling beasts start hurling themselves into the barrier brutally, the majority dying on impact, or losing limbs and sustaining horrific damage. 

  
“What the hell?” Bucky says quietly.

  
“Looks like we pissed her off,” Nat says flatly. 

  
“They’re killing themselves,” Okoye breathes out, horrified at the carnage the beasts were causing to their own bodies. A few of the mangled beasts do break through the barrier though, running towards the assembled humans snarling and gnashing and guns start going off to stop their approach. Tony uses his repulser a few times to blow some of them back while Sam sends Redwing into the sky to fire on them as well, exclaiming loudly about the size of the teeth on the creatures. 

  
“Alright, back up Sam, you’re gonna get your wings singed,” Rhodey radios as he takes flight, dropping mines along the line of creatures inside the dome, blowing them to smithereens. In response, the creatures all start pouring along the edge of the dome, starting to circle around. 

  
“Cap, if these things circle the perimeter and get in behind us, there’s nothing between them and Vision,” Bruce points out.

  
“Then we better keep them in front of us,” Steve replies.

  
“How do we do that?” Okoye asks T’Challa.

  
“We open the barrier,” he replies grimly. “On my signal, open the North-West section seventeen,” he says over his comm and Okoye stares at him in surprise.

  
Someone must disagree with him, or question him at least because he adds a terse ‘on my signal’ a moment later. 

  
Steve readies himself for battle and the others start following suit, though Dr. Strange starts to back away, one hand on the pendant containing the stone. 

  
“We have to get him out of here,” Peter says to Tony quietly, instant kill deactivated, chin tilting towards the doctor. “We need to protect that stone.”

  
Tony glances at Strange, who’s eyes slide over to look at Tony before he resumes his focus ahead of him. Tony knows Peter is right. It was great they were going to such lengths to protect Vision and the Mind Stone, but they had another stone in play and they couldn’t risk something happening to Strange. 

  
“Ok,” Tony agrees and backs towards Strange, Peter following quickly. “Doctor, let’s go, you aren’t a part of this,” Tony tells him and he prepares himself to be told off but instead he gets a quick nod and compliance. Not wanting to give him a chance to change his mind, Tony quickly snatches up the doctor and takes off into the air, Peter quickly sticking himself to his back and he heads towards a wooded area away from the battle. He knows there’s a chance, in fact a definite chance, the battle will come to them at some point because Thanos’ cronies are here for the stones, but he hopes they can come up with a plan or at least have a lot less opponents when it happens. 

  
The sounds from the field are terrifyingly loud, gun fire, bombs, and a lot of snarling give way to much louder machinery, what sounds like huge tanks crossing the ground, making it shake, the sounds like energy going through his body. Tony quickly takes to the air to try to see what’s happening and can’t help but gape in shock as he watches hordes of the beasts quickly overtaking their own forces, even Bruce is knocked down, screaming that there are too many of them as he’s piled on by a hundred of the snarling creatures. This was worse than New York, worse than Sokovia, worse than anything he’d known before.

  
Voices shout over his comm, giving orders, contacting each other, several ask where Tony is and he tells them that he’s protecting the Time Stone, but he realizes that he needs to get his ass back on that field, to help the others. Pete is capable of protecting Strange for a few minutes, he’d proven his abilities. 

  
Tony is about to move, to go try to help when suddenly a huge beam of light drops out of the sky right in the middle of the battlefield, producing an axe that flies out, propelled by lightening as it makes a huge arc around the field, slaughtering a swath of the creatures before returning to its owner, who appears at the last second. 

  
Thor stands in the centre with two others, one a tree it appears and the other a raccoon holding a machine gun and Tony shakes his head slightly, frowning in confusion at the three strange musketeers, but at this point, he’s happy for the help. 

  
“Hahahahaha,” Bruce laughs loudly, standing up as dead creatures fall away from him. “You guys are so screwed now!” He announces as Thor raises the axe towards the sky.

  
“BRING ME THANOS!” He shouts before gathering lightening from the clouds and launching himself into the air, landing in a dense cluster of the beasts, making a smoldering crater of limbs and bodies.

  
The battle resuming, Tony holds back and keeps watch, making sure none of the beasts seem to be heading their way while the tree and raccoon join the fight. They start to make some headway with Thor’s help and a tiny prick of hope starts in Tony’s chest, but it’s quickly killed by the sound of something huge coming their way, rumbling through the trees and clearing a path of destruction before coming into view. Huge sets of motorized, spiked wheels crash towards the Wakandan soldiers and assembled Avengers, destroying everything in their path and T’Challa starts screaming for everyone to fall back. 

  
Heart pounding in his chest, Tony drops to the ground and grabs Peter’s shoulders. 

  
“Pete, watch Strange, hide, keep him safe, I need to go help them,” he says quickly before sailing back upwards and then towards the battle, firing his repulsers and lasers and every weapon he had at the enemy machinery. Nothing stops the wheels of death though, barely even slowing them down. He tries cutting one to pieces with his laser but he only detaches one of the wheels, the rest carrying on without delay. 

  
He turns in a circle, trying to come up with a plan when suddenly one set of the wheels takes flight in a red glow. He spots Wanda on the field and his heart sinks. She shouldn’t have to come help them, but they were quickly being overcome in this fight. Using her power she quickly lifts and drops the giant machine in a position to stop a huge cluster of the beasts, the pieces splintering off and sailing across the field and dropping down motionless. 

  
Tony realizes that if Wanda is on the field, Vision is unguarded. He turns towards the palace in time to see the AI tumbling out a window with an alien. 

  
“Guys, we got a Vision situation here,” Sam barks out, seeing the same thing as Tony.

  
“Somebody get to Vision!” Steve yells and both Tony and Bruce respond in the affirmative. 

  
Tony hurtles himself to where he saw Vision fall and he hears Wanda coming their way as well but she’s stopped by the tall female. 

  
Tony arrives to find Bruce taking on the huge alien from New York and he hurries on to find Vision while Bruce attempts to convince the Hulk to make an appearance again, to no avail. He does manage to finish off the huge alien using the suit though and starts searching for Vision with Tony.

  
“Vision, where are you, call out,” Tony yells, hovering just above the trees as he searches for heat signatures. 

  
When they do find the AI, he’s on the ground with a stab wound through his chest and the alien standing over him gloating. Tony starts to drop and watches as Cap barrels through the trees to tackle the alien to the ground, shouting at Vision to get out of there. 

  
“Tony?” Peter asks in a panicked voice and Tony stops descending to turn back to where he left Peter and Strange. 

  
“What’s up Pete?” He asks as he starts back towards them, figuring that Cap was on top of taking care of Vision, he needed to get back to keeping an eye on Strange and the time stone. 

  
“Something’s coming,” Peter says in a worried voice and Tony drops down on the ground next to him where he’s standing looking up at the sky. “I can feel it.”

  
Tony looks up as well, though he doesn’t see anything but blue sky, clouds and smoke from the many fires in the field. But he knows Peter’s senses are never wrong. 

  
“Everyone, on my position, we have incoming,” Steve radios and Tony suddenly feels a change in the air, an electricity before a massive black cloud appears in front of them, a giant figure stepping out of it. He’s massive, even bigger than the alien from New York, with purple skin and armor covering most of his body. On his left hand he wears a gold gauntlet, several colored stones on the knuckles. 

  
Tony quickly motions for Pete to get out of sight and does the same himself, trying to come up with a plan, eyes scanning the terrain for options, mind running through his weaponry and possible strategies. 

  
Thanos regards Dr. Strange very calmly, the other man matching it outwardly, choosing to face down their enemy. Tony isn’t sure if he’s just giving them time to come up with a plan or if he actually intends to just take on the big purple bastard himself. 

  
“You must be Thanos,” Dr. Strange says evenly, receiving a nod in response. 

  
“I am here for your stone, to accomplish my mission,” Thanos replies, his voice deep. 

  
“You cannot have it, I will not let you finish this,” Strange replies defiantly. 

  
Thanos’ brows go up slightly, shoulders going back as he relaxes into casual stance. 

  
“Titan, my home, it was beautiful, but like most planets there were too many mouths, and not enough to go around, and when we faced extinction, I offered a solution,” he explains out of nowhere.

  
“Genocide,” Strange replies hotly before Tony gets a chance to offer a sarcastic retort himself.

  
“But at random, dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike,” he replies, not bothered by the doctor’s tone. “They called me a madman, but what I predicted came to pass.”

  
“Congratulations,” Strange replies sarcastically. “You’re a prophet.”

  
“I’m a survivor,” Thanos says darkly, tensing as he moves towards Strange. 

  
“Who wants to murder trillions,” Strange retorts, holding his ground. Tony moves quietly out of sight of the enemy, collecting a huge boulder using his thrusters and Peter follows suit. 

  
“With all six stones, I could simply snap my fingers, and they would all cease to exist,” Thanos replies, lifting the gauntlet and mimicking the motion. “I call that mercy.”

  
“I think you will find our will equal to yours,” Strange counters, lifting his arms and creating his shields. Thanos starts to move but Tony quickly hurls the boulder at him, several more being added by Peter, smothering the Titan in a rock pile. 

  
Tony lands and waits, feeling like it was a little too easy to stop the guy and he’s actually not surprised when the pile of rocks suddenly erupts in a purple glow, the pieces rocketing away and the three humans quickly duck to avoid being hit while Thanos roars in anger. They don’t stop though, know they can’t and Strange quickly sends his cape towards the gauntlet where it wraps around it to prevent Thanos from closing his fist and using the other stones. Using his repulsers and guns, Tony launches an assault on him, Peter joining in with strategic punches and kicks in tune with Tony’s blows. Thanos struggles to fight them off while also yanking on the cape. Their strategy works as a distraction for only a few minutes before Pete gets a little too close in throwing a kick and Thanos grabs him with his free hand and throws him at Strange, knocking both of them to the ground before tearing the cape off and Tony quickly starts dropping bombs on him but he closes his fist before the assault can do much damage and he blasts Tony out of the sky with a bolt of energy and into a nearby rock wall. 

  
Peter quickly jumps up and lands on Thanos’ back while Thanos continues to fire at Tony. Using webs, Peter tries to tie up the gauntlet but Thanos grabs ahold of him a second time and throws him towards the ground again. Tony starts trying to distract him with flares and a fire thrower as Strange comes up behind the Titan and secures his head in some sort of spell while Peter starts using webbing on the gauntlet again, trying to pull it off of his hand. Tony lands beside him and starts trying to help while Thanos struggles against the spell. 

  
“Hurry up! He’s really strong!” Strange shouts, hands shaking as he struggles to keep the spell in place as Thanos thrashes his head back and forth.

  
“We almost got it, just hold him a little longer,” Tony hurries out, yanking again and getting it a little further off, the glove only on his huge purple fingers now. 

  
“NO!” Thanos yells, throwing all of his strength into breaking the spell and he succeeds, knocking Strange back with a fist, crumpling the doctor to the ground, before ripping his hand and the gauntlet away from Tony and Peter, quickly sliding it back on before blasting both of them away with the power of the stones. Tony lands on the ground several feet away, a long scar in the ground from where he slid but he’s not harmed. He’s still able to watch as Peter slams into the rock wall with a sound that Tony will never be able to forget. A horrifying crackling crunch signifying bones breaking and a thud as his body crumples to the ground, lying motionless in a heap.

  
It’s like time comes to a stop and the only sound he can hear is his own heart pounding as he stares at Peter’s motionless form on the ground. Breath stuck in his throat, he tries to scream as anguish pours through him and he starts to run towards Peter when he hears the growling rumble behind him. He turns back to Thanos in time to see a shower of rocks and boulders coming his way, smashing him into the ground and breaking several parts of his suit. But he blasts through them and charges towards the Titan, growling loudly in fury now, launching several rockets at him. Using his super jet boot configuration, he hurls himself into Thanos horizontally, bouncing off almost harmlessly but it doesn’t stop him and he quickly stabilizes himself to charge again, punching Thanos with a battering ram, knocking him down and back several feet. 

  
Thanos shakes it off quickly though, reaching for Tony on his next charge, ripping his helmet off easily and it stuns Tony for a moment before he quickly recovers and instructs the suit to get a new one in place. Thanos makes use of the delay and punches Tony hard, sending him back several meters. Using the stones, he streams a near continuous torrent of energy at Tony who is pushed back further by the force of it, despite using a shield. He manages to slide out from behind it, using his boot jet again to get back to Thanos, kicking at him while anchoring himself into the ground, punching and hitting with his ram several times before Thanos finally jolts back, hand touching a cut on his cheek from the assault. 

  
“All that for a drop of blood,” he says snidely, though he is panting, Tony has winded him.

  
Smiling at Tony as he struggles to get himself upright, he barely gets on his feet before Thanos punches him hard, sending him rolling away before following and launching a brutal assault with his fists. Tony attempts to block him with his forearms but Thanos is relentless, picking him up by his helmet and blasting his middle with energy and pieces of the suit start coming away, the damage too great to recover from. 

  
He lands hard on the ground when Thanos lets go, huge portions of his body exposed from the damage to the suit but he still manages to use a repulser to shoot at Thanos, only to have it deflected by the gauntlet and Thanos walks right up to him and punches his helmet clean off. Crossing his arms and using the last of the armor he has left to protect his head, he fends off another attack of energy before unsheathing a short sword from his arm band, swinging at his opponent who simply grabs it, breaks it off and turns it on Tony, driving it through his middle. 

  
The pain is slow to arrive, it’s more of a burn at first, and a coppery taste of blood fills his mouth, some of it drooling down his chin. And a part of Tony welcomes the thought of death. If Peter is dead, then Tony isn’t sure he wants to keep going himself. At least he won’t have to live in a world without Peter in it. But he doesn’t know if Peter is dead or not, he needs to know, he needs to get to him. 

  
“You have my respect Stark,” Thanos coos above him as Tony struggles with the pain, with the knowledge that this might be the end, that Peter may already be gone. Placing his gauntlet covered hand on Tony’s head gently, he pets him like a dog while he carries on talking. “When I’m done, half of humanity will still be alive. I hope they remember you.” 

  
He straightens then and raises the gauntlet, the stones glowing.

  
“Stop!” Strange shouts, sitting up as best he can despite his injuries. “Spare his life and I will give you the stone.”

  
Thanos turns towards him and regards him coolly, pointing the stones at the doctor now and Tony sits up as well.

  
“No tricks?” Thanos asks and Dr. Strange shakes his head.

  
“Don’t!” Tony shouts out but Strange just looks at him with an unreadable expression before plucking the stone out of its hiding place and releasing it to float towards Thanos, who catches it and drops it into its place on the gauntlet, glowing green. 

  
“Why would you do that?” Tony asks Strange, horrified that he would hand it over so easily, after telling them there was one chance they would win.

  
“We’re in the Endgame now,” Strange replies cryptically. 


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eeeep, I hope this doesn't disappoint!

A racket of noise comes through the trees and Bruce comes into view in Tony’s peripheral vision. He’s only half aware of them fighting, of others joining in the fray.

Vision is on the ground further out, Wanda trying to destroy the stone while the rest of the team tries to take on Thanos. Tony watches for a moment without really absorbing it and it’s like it is happening in slow motion. 

  
Peter’s words ring through his head, his prophecy about Thanos using the time stone to reverse anything they did coming true. A sense of doom in his stomach tells him that he will bear witness to it.

  
Not able to watch, not wanting to, Tony turns and stares at Peter, his crumpled motionless form on the ground, the tears trickling down his cheeks matching the warm wetness coming from the wound in his stomach. His entire world pinpoints down to just Peter, all he can see. Ringing starts in his ears, quiet at first but growing louder as reality crushes down on him. They were losing this fight, he’s not even surprised by that, but he was losing so much more it seemed.

  
The mind stone explodes a few yards away with an impressive blast of light, sending a shock wave out over the forest. It barely startles him and his eyes don’t leave Peter. He sits and waits for what he knows is coming, hears it as it does, the reversal of that blast, the time going back and the shock wave going through the group as they realize their mistake. The ringing in his ears gets louder as he hear Thanos yank the stone from Vision's head, completing his collection. 

  
The moment that makes Tony turn his eyes from Peter, that finally shakes him from his daze of pain is Thor dropping down, lighting exploding from the sky as he buries his axe into Thanos' chest, knocking the giant down to one knee. Clearly he hadn’t expected that but it didn’t seem to make a difference. Not even when Thor pushes it in further, causing even more pain. But it isn’t enough, his face comes up to stare at Thor smugly, lips curling up slightly, hand with the gauntlet on it raising dramatically. 

  
“You should have… you…” Thanos starts, growing stronger. “You should have gone for the head” he announces, pressing his thumb and forefinger together at the same time a sound breaks across the space, a flicking sound that is painfully familiar to Tony. The sound of a web slinger going off. Tony can’t even see it properly it happens so fast, the fingers, preparing to snap, the flicking sound, a shiny thread crossing in front of Thanos, across his neck and then the flash of blue and red as Peter jumps away, pulling the web and cleanly slicing through the giants neck. 

  
Breathing hard, Tony watches as the head rolls to a stop only a few feet from him, mouth open wide in shock, eyes white. Seconds later his body falls in a heavy heap, blood seeping into the grass and then another collapses onto the ground, blue and red suit tattered in places. 

  
Eyes dragging across the ground, Tony finds Peter in his new location, body still looking just as broken but he was still alive, he had to be in order to do what he had just done. Forgetting everything and everyone else, Tony pulls the blade from his side and drops it into the grass before he starts crawling towards Peter, repeating his name like a mantra, voice breaking and whining, blood drooling from his mouth, heart pounding in his chest as he shakes off pieces of his suit as he goes, broken parts impeding his progress.

  
“Peter, Pete, Pete… Pete,” he repeats until he reaches the younger man, hands hovering over him, wanting desperately to touch, to pull him into his arms, but also terrified of hurting him, of making things worse. 

  
Peter is on his side, legs bent, one arm at an awkward angle under his body, the other out as though to break his fall but then Tony sees the web still attached, the thread shiny like silver and he recognizes it. He’d been the one to suggest adding a razor web option to Peter’s repertoire. He’d found a use for it so it seemed. 

  
As carefully as possible, Tony detaches the web and then instructs F.R.I.D.A.Y. to override Peter’s iron suit and retract his mask. Peter is unconscious under it, face covered in streaks of blood from his mouth, nose, eyes and even his ears and Tony makes a keening noise as he looks at him. It was a miracle he was still alive, but he wasn’t sure he would be for much longer, no matter how fast his body could heal. Quickly he adjusts the glasses on his face. Somehow they had mostly survived, just enough for him get some functions from them.

  
“F.R.I.D.A.Y. scan,” he instructs, looking down Peter’s body to help get an accurate picture.

  
“I detect a cerebral contusion, seven broken ribs, a broken femur and internal bleeding from multiple arteries boss, his body is trying to heal but he’s going to need help, now, if he is to survive,” the female voice tells him with some urgency. 

  
As gently as possible, Tony trails his fingers down the side of Peter’s face, hunching down over him as pain shoots through him, a gut wrenching, tearing sensation through the centre of his chest that makes him gasp. He can’t lose Peter, he can’t, not like this, not ever. He had to get help, get Peter somewhere to help him, fix him.

But where, he didn’t know Wakanda. Then he remembers Shuri’s lab, all of the medical equipment, he needed to get Peter there. 

  
As carefully as possible, he starts trying to scoop the smaller man up, his own injuries protesting the decision every step of the way but he persists in trying until a hand on his shoulder stops him. 

  
“Tony,” Steve says quietly behind him, voice full of gentleness, like he was preparing to give bad news. 

  
“NO, no, no, he needs help, we have to get him help, get him to the lab,” Tony demands, staring at Steve wildly for a moment before returning his attention to Peter, to trying to pick him up with no success. Peter issues a soft moan, reacting to the pain in his body and it seems to startle Steve, making him realize that he is still alive.

  
“HEY, get help, we need to get him to the lab, someone find Shuri, we’re gonna need her, Banner, get over here,” Steve starts barking out orders, standing up behind Tony. 

  
“He’s still alive?” Tony hears Bruce say, his footsteps heavy in the suit. “Holy shit.”

  
“He did it, he stopped him,” Natasha breathes out from somewhere to Tony’s left but still no one steps forward to help him get Peter up, to get him to where he needed to be. 

  
He’s about to start screaming at them, panic enveloping him that they weren’t moving fast enough, especially with F.R.I.D.A.Y. in his ear reminding him of the direness of the situation and how it was worsening by the second. He turns to tell them to hurry up or they would be too late when suddenly Peter lifts off the ground in a haze of red light and starts to float away and Tony looks up to meet Wanda’s stricken face. There is a huge bruise running down her cheek, a cut on her lip and her eyes are red and wet, but she’s focused on her task as she gently carries Peter through the trees, towards the palace and the best chance they had at saving him. 

  
Gratitude pours through Tony. She had just lost someone she loved, for a second time in her short life, and yet she was still strong enough, still conscious enough despite her grief to step up and help. 

  
His legs are shaky and the blood starts to pour from his wound more as he gets up and starts following Peter’s floating form. He stumbles and falls multiple times, hand fumbling to use what little he had left of technology in his suit on his arm to close his wound enough to at least keep himself alive for now. When he falls a third time he finally becomes conscious of voices following him, Steve and Bruce, Thor and T’Challa as they catch up with him. 

  
“Okoye, find Shuri, get her to the palace immediately, to the lab,” T’Challa barks beside him, giving instructions to his soldiers, hands supporting Nakia as she limps beside him. 

  
Hands land on Tony, lifting him, supporting him under his arms to keep him from falling again and he glances to his right to find Steve there, guiding him. Cap nods at him once, face understanding before he turns back to watch their footing as they go. Tony keeps his eyes focused on Peter, watching for signs of life, to know he was still with them.

  
It feels like forever to reach the palace, Tony hadn’t realized how far they had gone into the woods, but when they get to the open valley where the battle had been, the damage is extensive. Bodies and debris litter the torn up ground, technology, both human and alien creating metallic boulders in huge smoking craters. There is no sign of the enemy though, the black shards all gone and it startles Steve. 

  
“They’re gone?” Steve asks quietly, slowing slightly to survey the scene while Tony starts pulling him, only concerned with Peter at the moment. 

  
“Yes, they left the moment Thanos was killed,” Okoye informs him. “It seems without a leader, they are without a need to fight.”

  
“Or they are planning on regrouping and coming back,” Natasha adds ominously and they all go quiet again.

  
The ground is littered with broken glass on the pavilion as they reach the palace and head inside. Tony is surprised when they get led down below, on a long spiral ramp instead of going upstairs to the lab he’d seen before but he sees why when they arrive. This is more of a medical wing, with a hell of a lot more equipment. Shuri is there when they arrive, looking a bit worse for wear herself but she seems focused and quickly scans Peter’s body with her beads as she had done with Vision, her face grave as she takes in the damage. 

  
“Where’s Dr. Strange? Isn’t he a surgeon?” Bruce asks, hovering by the door. 

  
“Not anymore,” the man replies behind him. “My hands are no longer able to perform the delicate movements required but I will assist in any other way I can.”

  
Shuri nods at him and sets to work, Tony assisting in getting the iron spider suit to release and then just generally hovering despite his wobbly legs because he can’t bear to leave Peter. Others come in, clearly assistants of hers that Tony doesn’t know or pay much attention to. They all eye him, his stricken face as he stares at Peter’s battered form but no one says anything. 

  
The first goal is to stop the bleeding internally, something that takes far longer than they would want it to, but eventually they manage to get it under control. Shuri then carefully resets any bones she can, wrapping and stabilizing them before cleaning up and stitching the more superficial wounds. She keeps checking Peter’s eyes, looking for reactions and her face gets more grave each time she doesn’t get what she wants to see. Tony knows what it means. Cerebral contusion was the first diagnosis he heard, Peter’s brain is bleeding, never a good thing and the longer they went without response from him, the worse the swelling likely was and that was leading to an increase in the chance of him forming a hematoma. The bones, the cuts, even the internal damage would heal with Peter’s abilities, but the brain is so delicate that even with his fast healing, it still might not be enough. 

  
When she’s completed her work for the time being, Shuri steps back and regards Tony for a long moment.

  
“We have to wait, and see, he's strong, but I can’t say what the outcome will be,” she says quietly, gently. 

  
“Thank you sister,” T’Challa says, nodding at her. 

  
“Perhaps we should look at your injuries?” Shuri asks Tony, head tilting to the side slightly as she tries to peer at the stab wound on his stomach but he shakes his head immediately, gripping Peter’s hand and resolutely refusing to move. He couldn't leave, not with Peter in this state, not with things hanging in the balance like this. 

  
“Tony, you’ve been stabbed, we need to get you fixed up,” Bruce urges, coming up behind him to gently try to pull Tony away, wanting to help his friend but he gets somewhat violently rebuffed and pushed away.

  
“I’m not leaving him,” Tony growls out through a choked voice. “I’m not leaving him, I can’t.”

  
He can feel the pitying eyes from around the room and it’s quiet for a long moment before Shuri sighs softly and comes up behind him.

  
“Fine, stay, but let me tend to this here,” she asks him, dark eyes staring him down and Tony nods once, lifting his arm to give her access while his other hand stays gripped to Peter’s. 

  
“Does he have any family? Should we…” Natasha asks the room, glancing around before they all go back to staring at Tony because he truly was the only one in the room who knew Peter. 

  
“His Aunt, May Parker, she lives in Queens,” Tony replies mechanically, eyes still on Peter’s face, willing him to wake up. 

  
“Ok, well, we should go get her, just in case…” Natasha says, trailing off and Tony winces. He doesn’t want to think of ‘just in cases’ or possibilities. 

  
“I’ll go,” Steve offers, straightening up and heading for the door.

  
“I’ll go with you,” Bucky adds, following him and they are gone. 

  
The rest of the group trickles out as Shuri works on Tony’s wound. She announces that it’s not too severe, it didn’t hit anything too important and she sets to stitching him up properly before bandaging it. Once she’s finished, she collects a chair and demands he sit down in it beside Peter and he complies, his legs feeling weak and heavy under him from blood loss and shock. 

  
Then it’s just him and Peter and the sound of the heart monitor and the drip from the IV going into Peter’s hand. None of them know the depth of their relationship but yet everyone seemed to understand to leave them alone. 

  
An hour passes, then two and Tony keeps a close watch, memorizing and detailing every movement of Peter’s face, the tiniest flickers of his eyes, the natural nerve twitches around his lips and how they are wrapped around an intubation device that is breathing for him. 

  
He never in a million years could have seen his life going this way, to this outcome, to this person as his soulmate but he thinks it’s an incredibly asshole move on whoever decided it to cause them this much grief and pain. 

  
After three hours have passed he hears the door open but doesn’t look up, assuming it’s Shuri or one of her assistants coming to check on the patient but when no one comes up to the bed after a few minutes he finally tears his eyes away to see who is there. Nick Fury stands just inside the door, face guarded as he stares at Tony and Peter in turns. 

  
“He did it, he saved us all,” Nick states matter-of-factly, face softening slightly as he looks at Peter. 

  
“Where the hell were you?” Tony asks, voice breaking and rough, throat raw from thirst, exhaustion and tightness from emotion. “Why were you not here to help?” He demands, not feeling all that interested in a sermon or kernels of wisdom from the other man right now, not after what he had just gone through.

  
“I was looking for reinforcements,” Nick replies evenly, eyes on Peter for a few moments longer before he turns to Tony and he’s surprised to see the expression there. Rather than ire, or disgust, the things he was sort of accustomed to now since Nick found out about them, instead there is understanding and kindness. “I’m sorry Tony.”

  
“He’s not dead,” Tony points out bluntly. He doesn't add the yet because he refuses to consider the yet. 

  
“I know,” Nick replies. “The first thing Natasha said to me when I walked in the door a few minutes ago was that she had never seen you look at someone like this before, the way you look at Peter and I see it too. I still don’t agree with your relationship, but I also can see that it’s real for you.”

Well that was unexpected. It takes Tony a minute to absorb that and mentally unpack it before he can respond.

  
“It’s real for him too,” Tony finally manages and Nick nods once. “Did you tell them?”

  
“No, not for me to tell, though I hear his aunt is on her way here, can’t guarantee she won’t spill the beans,” Nick points out and Tony sighs loudly. He’d already thought of that, but it really didn’t matter anymore. She needed to be there and she was going to have to accept that Tony was as well, that he wasn’t leaving. This wasn’t about them, it was about Peter. 

  
“Whatever, doesn’t matter now,” Tony points out, turning back to Peter, eyes going over his sweet innocent face, still so lovely despite the bruises and marks. 

  
“I’m here if you need anything,” Nick says by way of exit and he’s gone a minute later. 

  
Tony goes back to staring at Peter, watching for any sign of him waking up, of him recovering and he sees nothing. He starts talking to Peter, trying to urge him to wake up, hoping for a response that way.

  
“Come on Pete, you gotta wake up baby, I need you, ok, I need you with me, I can’t do this without you,” Tony begs repeatedly, voice deteriorating but he persists. 

After an hour of the begging he starts just talking more in general, telling Peter that is Aunt is on the way, that she would be there soon thanks to the Quinjet’s speed capability, that everyone is so grateful to him for what he did. He keeps talking even as his voice disappears, becoming a pathetic squeak but he still gets no response. 

  
Every visit from Shuri is just as depressing as the last and she reports no change. She never makes promises or tries to molly coddle Tony, which he appreciates, but her bedside manner isn’t exactly warm either. She’s young, younger than Peter but still so much like him. When she comes again almost ten hours later, Tony starts telling her about Peter, how smart he was, how he’d developed his web fluid himself and about all of the other amazing things Peter had done and she listens patiently. She does ask a few questions about how Peter came to be Spiderman, but not much else. This time when she leaves she places a hand on Tony’s shoulder gently as she goes, a soft sign of compassion that somehow breaks his heart more and he ends up with his forehead pressed against Peter’s arm as he quietly cries. Still begging, pleading with Peter to wake up, to come back to him. 

  
Minutes later the door crashes open and May comes bursting in, not even noticing Tony as she barrels towards the prone form on the table.

  
“PETER! Oh my God, Peter, what did you do,” she wails, hands landing on his face, fingers probing as she tries to get a response of her own. Tony’s head pops up in surprise, face still tear stained as he stares at her for a moment and then at Peter, praying that maybe she might wake him up, he wouldn’t even be jealous. 

  
His movement seems to catch May’s notice and her face turns towards him suddenly, eyes wide as she takes him in and a flurry of emotions cross her features as she stares at him. 

  
“How could you let this happen?” She demands suddenly. “You should have protected him!”

  
“I tried,” Tony squeaks out, body shaking under the scrutiny, the knowledge that she was right, he should have protected Peter better. “I tried, I didn’t…” He trails off and his mouth wobbles uselessly. 

  
“It’s not Tony’s fault,” Natasha adds from the doorway, stepping in with the others. “Peter did the right thing, he did what the rest of us couldn’t get done and he saved lives, so many lives.”

  
“Yes, I know,” May replies slightly petulantly. “Mr. Rogers told me on the way here, but now I could lose Peter, he’s all I have left!”

  
Natasha looks down sadly, not knowing how to respond, none of them do. None of them except Peter, who starts moving on the bed. First it’s his hand in Tony’s squeezing tighter and tighter until it becomes painful before he starts trying to fight the breathing tube in his mouth and throat. Shuri hurries up beside the bed and quickly removes it, instructing Peter to stay still and stop fighting.

  
“Tony?” He says as soon as the tube is out, voice broken and raw and full of worry. 

  
Tony’s on his feet immediately, almost crashing into May as he looks down onto Peter’s face, his chocolate brown eyes opening just a little before he winces and closes them again. 

  
“Ow,” he groans out. 

  
“Peter! Oh my God, sweetheart,” May cries out, hand on Peter’s cheek and he winces again.

  
“Not so loud, please,” he asks quietly. “What happened? Did it work?”

  
“Yeah Peter son, yeah, it did,” Steve replies from the end of the bed. Tony tries to quell the desire he is suddenly overwhelmed with to have them all leave, for it to go back to just the two of them again. He knows it’s selfish but he feels like Peter belongs to him, not them, they shouldn’t be here, pushing in on the little bubble he and Peter had created. 

  
“Good,” is Peter’s response. “When can we go home?” He asks a moment later, his eyes open a bit again and he focuses squarely on Tony. As he takes the older man in his eyes open wider, looking more and more alarmed. 

  
“I’m fine Pete,” Tony tries to tell him and Peter frowns. 

  
“No you’re not, how bad is it?” He demands.

  
“He’s fine Peter, let’s just worry about you,” May replies, trying to get his attention away from Tony but it doesn’t work. 

  
“I’m fine Peter, I promise, alright, not as bad as what you were facing,” Tony tells him and Peter narrows his eyes. 

  
“I have the ability to heal quickly, you don’t, tell me the truth,” he demands again and May sighs. Tony wants so badly to laugh. Because this was just Pete all over right here. The guy had just saved trillions of lives, killed a giant mad man from another planet and damn near died himself but he was more concerned about Tony. “Don’t you dare laugh right now, this isn’t funny.”

  
Clearly Tony’s poker face is broken right now. He’s not surprised, he feels crazed frankly. 

  
“I didn’t laugh,” Tony points out. “Please stop worrying about me, ok, I mean, you really should be more concerned about yourself buddy.”

  
“I’m fine, I keep telling you that,” Peter points out hotly.

  
“You weren’t an hour ago, trust me, or did you forget the breathing tube we just had to take out,” Tony replies evenly despite his non-existent voice. Peter huffs in response though his eyes remain on Tony’s face, emotions clear on his face. 

  
“I’ll be fine Peter, I promise,” Tony says more gently, reassuringly, hand squeezing Peter’s meaningfully and the younger man nods a moment later. 

  
“How bad am I?” He asks carefully, eyes flicking to Shuri and back to Tony. 

  
“You have several broken bones and we had to perform laparoscopic surgery to stop the bleeding in your abdomen, as well as a pretty severe contusion on your brain,” she replies clinically, though it’s not without kindness. “I’m glad to see you awake, you had us all very worried.”

  
“How long was I out?” Peter asks alarmed. 

  
“Just about fifteen hours,” she replies. “May I?” She asks as she holds up the beads and Peter nods. She quickly scans him again, checking the holographic image that is created to see the status of his injuries and she appears satisfied with what she sees.

  
“You’re lucky you have that ability to heal quickly, it’s what kept you alive, you are doing well, I think we can move you to a more comfortable location now,” she offers and Peter nods, squirming slightly on the strange black table that appeared almost like it was filled with a fine metallic silt. “Is there anything you require?” She asks politely and Peter blushes slightly.

  
“Clothes would be good,” he replies, eyes glancing down at the thin blanket covering his lower half. Shuri smiles gently and nods, turning to her brother who quickly gives instructions to a guard near the door. 


	23. Chapter 23

A thump against his chair startles Tony awake and he sits up quickly, making his head spin and a gravelly groan come from his throat as pain shoots down his left side. Staring around he gathers his bearings and notes Peter sound asleep on the bed, the pillows a halo around his dark hair, pink mouth slack and eyelashes fanned across his cheeks. 

  
It hadn’t taken long to get him installed upstairs in one of the few undamaged bedrooms in the palace on a wide bed in a comfortable cotton tunic and soft pants. Shuri had triple checked him before they left but had been happy with the progress he was making in healing, though it would still be some time for him to be completely healed up. Moving him also meant more room in the medical area for other patients being brought in from the battlefield and funerals were being planned for those who had been lost in the fight. Vision’s body had been collected and brought to the upstairs lab where it laid in waiting. For what, no one really knew or was talking about. The rest of the team was doing their best to help in the clean up after being patched up themselves. They still inquired about Peter, Natasha poking her head in from time to time, but while they were all overwhelmed with gratitude in what he had done for them, it seemed that none of them knew how to truly express it. And Pete, well, he was being Pete about it. According to him, it was a hail Mary shot he took and he was glad it worked but as far as he was concerned, they all were responsible for taking Thanos down. 

  
Re-situated, Tony looks behind him to find the source of his awakening and finds May standing by his chair, a bottle of water and a sandwich in her hand. 

  
“I brought you some water and something to eat, you need it,” she offers in a slightly clipped tone, depositing the two items on the side table near Tony and then rounding the bed again to retake her position on the other side. The bed was at least a double size, but Tony had definitely caught the vibe that it wouldn’t be acceptable to May if he were to sit on the bed with Peter, so he had pulled a chair up. Seeing this, Peter had told May to get her own chair and a weird cross bed standoff had begun. She’d barely looked at Tony and hadn’t said a word to him in the full day they had been in there. When Peter had fallen asleep, Tony’s own exhaustion had pulled his head down onto the bed beside Peter’s hand and he was out almost immediately. 

  
“Thanks,” he replies, picking up the bottle of water. Shuri had shoved one into his hand while they were moving Peter, but he hadn’t had anything since and he was feeling the effects. The water feels cold in his stomach and he waits to eat, feeling hollow and not particularly hungry though that was likely more evidence that he needed to eat. 

  
“What’s up with your side?” May asks, nodding towards the affected area, actual concern crossing her features for a second before her expression returns to the hardness Tony was accustomed to from the last twenty-four hours. 

  
“Stabbed,” Tony replies bluntly in a quiet voice. He’d managed to keep that bit of information from Peter and wasn’t about to let it drop in now. 

  
“Oh,” May replies, face concerned again. “Are you alright?”

  
“Yeah, Shuri stitched me up, says it didn’t hit anything major, I’ll be fine,” he replies, drinking more of the water. 

  
It goes quiet again, both of them turning to stare at Peter’s face again for a long moment. Tony admiring it as he always did, with a sort of awe that he couldn’t believe Peter existed, let alone was his. May looked in slight awe herself but for other reasons. 

  
“I can’t believe he did it,” she says quietly. “That he’s a superhero, that he actually did something so amazing and he’s been doing amazing things all this time and I had no idea.”

  
“He was protecting you, he didn’t want you to be worried about him,” Tony replies gently. 

  
“I know, I get it I guess, I was a mess after Ben, but I still wish he’d talked to me, he’s been putting his life in danger and I had no idea,” she whispers, frowning.

  
Tony wonders if she knows how much Peter blames himself for Ben’s death. He knows it’s not his place to mention it, that was Peter’s business but it might help her understand Peter’s motivations. 

  
“That’s part of why I tried to recruit him,” Tony tells her. “I saw the videos on YouTube, and was more than a little surprised to find out he was a high school kid and not an adult, but I saw what he could do, brought him in to help me, to test him a little I guess and really thought it was for the best that he join the Avengers, so that he would be part of the team, since it would be safer for him.”

  
She stares at him for a long moment, eyes scrutinizing him for the truth of his words.

  
“How long was he doing this before you came along?”

  
“6 months I think, maybe a little more, maybe a little less, I don’t know, you’d have to ask him,” Tony replies with a shrug. “I really did have nothing to do with him becoming Spiderman though, I’m telling you the truth and I really did mean to help him, to protect him. I even took the suit away from him for a while because I thought he was being too reckless, but Pete, he can’t turn away when he sees something bad happening, he has to jump in and help.”

“When was that?”

  
“Before his Homecoming last year, he got caught up with some guy dealing in dangerous weapons and I’ll admit I didn’t take him seriously enough when he told me about it, but, he saved the day then as well, stopped a lot of really dangerous people and I realized that he wasn’t gonna stop helping people, trying to stop the bad shit in the world, so it was better to keep him close versus trying to tell him to stop.”

  
Her face blanks as she absorbs all of this information, a lot she had no idea about and after a minute she nods, understanding crossing her features. 

  
“I’m glad you care enough to watch out for him, have done what you can to protect him and I’m sorry for yelling at you about that when I got here,” she says gently, the hardness fully gone. “But you know I can’t condone what your relationship with him has become.”

Tony nods, he figured that. 

  
“I didn’t plan on it happening,” Tony tells her honestly. “It just did, I developed feelings for him without even realizing it until all of a sudden I just knew. I’m sorry, because I didn’t mean to hurt you or upset you or cause all of this.”

“He just keeps telling me he loves you, that he’s in love with you, but it just doesn’t seem like it could be real,” she says with a frown. Peter had told Tony about her thinking that, how she had given Peter the ‘you don’t know what being in love is’ line. It had not surprisingly gone over like a lead balloon for Peter. 

  
“Yeah, I know, he told me what you said and I’m not saying this for my own benefit, trust me, but maybe you should listen to him? He’s a lot more mature than I think you give him credit for, he sees the world in ways that sometimes I don’t even grasp and he’s wise beyond his years,” he says carefully, unsure of what her reaction would be and the hardness comes back for a moment before she purses her lips slightly and nods. 

  
“I’ll talk to him, but again, I can’t condone the relationship, I’m sorry, I can’t, he’s 16 Tony and you are what, 47? 48? It’s insane, no matter how you two feel about each other, it’s not right and maybe you need to think about that,” she says a little coldly and he nods. He hadn’t expected to change her mind. A part of him knows that in general, she’s right, their relationship is insane, for everyone else but the two of them. He knows that’s incredibly insular thinking, that he’s creating a thought space where he and Peter are different from the rest of the world and therefore the rest of the world’s laws and opinions don’t apply to them, but to him it’s the truth. He and Peter are different, their lives are different, they exist in a situation and realm that the rest of the average population does not and that counts for something. 

  
“Look, he’s probably gonna sleep for a while, I know Shuri had some clean clothes brought up for you, why don’t you go shower, clean up, get changed before he wakes up. It’ll probably make you feel a bit better and frankly, you look like shit,” May offers, pointing vaguely towards the adjoining bathroom to the room and Tony glances back at it and then back to Peter as Shuri comes into the room, a new IV bag in her hand for Peter. “He’s fine Tony, I’m not about to let anything happen to him and you have to take care of yourself sometime,” May points out somewhat sternly and Shuri nods behind her.

  
“Stop being a martyr, go get cleaned up and drink some more water or I’m putting an IV in you whether or not you like it, I’ll put a fresh bandage on your wound when you get out,” the Princess says harshly and Tony frowns at her. 

  
“Wow, ok, fine then, but come get me if something happens or he wakes up,” Tony grumbles as he stands on shaky legs. The effort of walking across the room tells him that he’s in worse shape than he thought and clearly he needs to eat that sandwich when he’s done showering. 

  
He manages to get through the shower without collapsing though, wincing as he washes off all of the superficial cuts and scrapes on his body, the bruises a spectacular black inky shade against his pale skin. His first glimpse of his face in the mirror is horrifying and he stares in shock for a moment, understanding why Peter had been so taken aback looking at him. His eyes look sunken from dehydration, beneath them as black as the bruises on his body, his cheeks are gaunt and he’s rocking several day’s worth of beard growth, his usual well styled goatee hidden in the sea of newly grown hair. His wet hair is sticking out all over the place but he manages to smooth it down before pulling on the clean clothes, leaving the tunic open to have his major wound redressed by Shuri as she had promised to do.

  
Feeling quite dizzy, he wobbles his way out of the bathroom and looks for Shuri but instead meets Peter’s brown eyes full of worry and horror as they take Tony in. He quickly tries to close the shirt to hide the jagged gash full of stitches but he’s not fast enough and Peter’s finger comes up to point at it immediately, eyes wide as he sits up.

  
“What’s that? Tony what is that? You told me you were fine, what happened?” He demands, scrambling for the blankets to try to get up and May’s hands land on him, holding him back, telling him to stay in bed.

  
“Just a little stab wound, Pete, but I’m fine, Shuri says it hit nothing major, it looks worse than it is ok?” Tony sighs and Peter frowns, lips a tight line.

  
“When did you get stabbed? I didn’t even see that, why didn’t you tell me?”

  
“When I was fighting him, he used my own blade against me the bastard, just to add insult to injury,” Tony grumbles out sarcastically, starting to stumble towards the chair because his legs are telling him quite loudly that they no longer want to support his weight so it’s either the chair or the floor. “I didn’t want you to worry, ok, I’m fine, I’ll be fine,” Tony slurs out, the room spinning at a dizzying speed and he sees May stand, well, several Mays stand up before he gets a good eyeful of the floor as it meets his face, Peter’s voice, May’s voice, both sounding very far away in an ocean of noise in his ears. Then it all goes black. 

***

“Tony?! Tony wake up!” Peter’s voice shouts from some distant location and Tony tries to groan in response. 

  
“Mr. Stark, can you hear me?” Comes Shuri, she sounds closer and Tony can feel her hand on his arm, another probing his wrist for his pulse and he physically starts to become more aware.

  
First, his nose hurts, so does his forehead. Secondly, he feels like he’s lying on the floor, which doesn’t make much sense, why would he be on the floor? “Mr. Stark, can you open your eyes for me?” Shuri asks him, voice insistent and Tony complies because she asked, so why shouldn’t he? Her face is quite close when he gets them open, peering down at him and beyond her face is a very beautifully painted wall, rather ornate with a glass light fixture sticking out of it. But that doesn’t make sense, why would the light fixture be sticking out of the wall?

  
It takes a second or two but he manages to put two and two together. He’s on the floor, on his back and that wall, is actually the ceiling. He has brief memories of feeling dizzy, of a falling sensation and realizes that he must have passed out. 

  
Well, he had been warned. 

  
“We need to get him on the bed, is he hurt?” Peter says in a worried tone, sounding much closer and seconds later he’s there, on Tony’s other wide, staring down at him with big brown scared eyes. “Peter, you shouldn’t be out of bed,” Tony croaks out, brows pulling together and making him wince at what is likely a newly forming bruise and Peter gives him an exasperated look. 

  
“Tony, shut up,” he replies bluntly before turning to May and Shuri. “Let’s get him on the bed, check him out.”

  
“Hey, I got him,” a male voice says from the door, feet hurrying over and Steve’s angular face appears over Tony’s and Tony can’t help but think this couldn’t possibly get worse but then Steve is picking him up bridal style and carrying his broken ass over to the bed and he can’t help but sigh angrily in embarrassment. Peter trails behind them, throwing a few looks Steve’s way, indicating that he still hadn’t forgiven Cap for choosing Bucky over Tony. Something that seemed weirdly no longer a concern to Tony. Fighting off giant murderous aliens had a tendency to change some people’s perspectives though he figured. 

  
Cap lays him down gently on the bed, his upper half propped up on the pillows and seconds later Shuri is waving her beads over him, a holographic image of his body appearing and it’s strange to look at it. He kind of wants a closer look, fascinated by the technology but she pulls it away a moment later, satisfied with her examination of his injuries. 

  
“You haven’t hurt yourself any further but I’m putting an IV in, you’re dehydrated and you need to eat, I can supplement with nutrients in the saline but you need to make an effort to take care of yourself as well Mr. Stark,” she says bluntly, putting on gloves and readying the IV needle and line quickly. She has it done before Tony can even finish processing what’s happening and the fluid starts trickling into his arm. 

  
Peter sits down next to him, the plate with the sandwich on it in his hand, which he starts shoving at Tony with a stern look on his face. Feeling a bit petulant, he almost wants to refuse but then realizes that would be ridiculous, so with shaky hands he picks up half and takes a bite, chewing slowly and staring at Peter as he does. It only takes a minute before Peter smirks and then laughs. 

  
“Peter, you need to be resting as well, we need to get that IV back in your arm,” May scolds him, and Peter glances down at his hand where a trickle of blood has made its way down. Evidently he’d just pulled it free to get to Tony, and it’s Tony’s turn to give Peter a stern look. Peter looks sheepish for a second before he gives his aunt a defiant look, turning to settle next to Tony on the bed and Tony tries not to choke on the food in his mouth as he glances up at her warily. She doesn’t look pleased at all by this development, but with people in the room, she doesn’t say anything, just watches both of them carefully as Shuri puts a new line in Peter’s other hand, placing a bandaid over the oozing wound, though it’ll likely be healed within a few hours. 

  
Not knowing what else to do, and feeling more than just a little scrutinized, Tony keeps eating until the sandwich is gone and then drinks the water that Peter hands him. He does feel better with the food in his stomach, his blood sugar already improving and he shuffles over to give Peter more room. Cap says nothing through all of this, just watches and hands Shuri things when she needs them but once Tony is done eating, he takes the plate and leaves with it, announcing that he’s going to get more water for them both and something for Peter to eat. His face is a bit perplexed as he goes and Tony wonders what he’s thinking. Cap was from another time, would he be able to figure it out? What would he have to say about it? Tony doesn’t want to care about Steve’s opinion but finds he does, he wants to know, he’d love to know what Natasha is thinking as well after her comment to Fury. 

  
When she decides the two of them will survive for the time being, Shuri leaves to go tend to other patients and it’s back to the three of them again, except now there’s two of them on the bed and a disgruntled Aunt May sitting in the chair. No one says anything and it feels awkward while they wait for Steve to come back. When he does, he doesn’t stay long, giving Peter a sandwich of his own and one for May and all of them a bottle of water before he excuses himself to go attend to some business. 

  
Peter eats the sandwich quickly while Tony drinks the water and May watches every brush of their arms. 

  
“May, why don’t you go get some rest,” Peter offers when he’s put the plate down, taking a long drag from his own water. “We’re ok, just gonna sleep, you might as well too.” His voice is gentle, he clearly isn’t trying to push her out but he also isn’t thrilled at the audience either. 

  
“I’m fine Peter, but you should rest,” she tells him. “Both of you,” she adds after. 

  
“We will, but Tony kept telling me just how fine he was and look what happened. Go get some rest, please, I don’t need both of you killing yourselves worrying about me,” Peter pushes, concern in his voice. “Though at least you didn’t get stabbed and then tried to hide it,” he adds after, throwing Tony a pointed look, which he shrinks from, feeling shamed. 

  
“Ok, alright Pete, but I’m right next door if you need me,” she sighs, looking tired and Tony gets why Peter is so concerned. 

  
She begrudgingly stands and leans over to give Peter a long hug and kiss on the top of his head. She nods at Tony, staring pointedly at the space on the bed between them, her eyes emphasizing that they should stay separate and Tony wonders just what in hell she thinks is going to happen with both of them injured and exhausted. They are surrounded by people as well. He couldn’t get it up if he wanted to. 

  
She slowly leaves, closing the door behind her and Peter sags beside him, though his eyes are on Tony. 

  
“Are you ok? Be honest this time,” he asks, voice turning stern at the end. 

  
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Tony replies, meeting his gaze so he knows he’s telling the truth. “I feel better now, I guess I did need to eat.”

  
“Good, don’t do that again ok?” Peter demands and Tony laughs once but nods and agrees. 

  
“Ok, let’s get some sleep,” Peter offers, yawning widely. 

  
“How are you feeling?” Tony asks him, eyes going down his body and back up. He wasn’t completely healed, but the danger had passed for the most part, the bleeding on his brain had stopped and the swelling was gone. 

  
“I’m ok, sore, tired, but things are getting better quickly,” Peter replies, head landing on Tony’s shoulder. 

  
“That’s good, don’t do that again ok? Do not ever scare me like that again, do you hear me?” Tony demands in a slightly crazed voice, memories of Peter lying broken on the ground in the field going through his mind. Peter’s head comes back up and Tony can feel his eyes on the side of his face. 

  
“Tony, I had to fight, just like you, I didn’t get hurt on purpose but we both knew the risks going in and I’m fine, I’ll be just fine, and it was worth it, he’s dead and we’re both here still, that’s what matters, we’re here together,” Peter says softly, hand landing in Tony’s, fingers lacing together and squeezing. 

  
“I know Pete, I know, but it shouldn’t have gone down like that, I should never have let you get hurt, I should have been smarter, used a better strategy,” Tony rambles out. He’d had plenty of time to think about everything he’d done wrong, how he should have done things, how it should never have been left up to Peter to fix, to finish it. 

  
“Tony, stop, there is no way we could have ever predicted what was gonna happen, we had to think on our feet, we had to fight in the only way we know how and we did, we both did, and it worked, please stop dwelling on it, focus on the positive please, us, here, together, still alive,” Peter urges, hand squeezing Tony’s as he sits up slightly to be able to look Tony in the eye. 

  
“Your Aunt isn’t ok with us,” Tony says bluntly. “And I’m not sure what anyone else thinks, or what’s gonna happen,” he adds uneasily. Yes, he’s happy they survived and are together now, but what happens next? 

  
“You seriously are a drag, you know that?” Peter says with a humorless laugh. “I give zero fucks what they think, who are they to judge us anyway, after what just happened? Fuck them, let’s just focus on us, figure it out for ourselves.”

  
“Pete…” Tony starts and Peter shushes him.

  
“Stop Tony, just shut up, let’s just be happy for once, just for once,” Peter begs him, eyes pleading and Tony nods. 

  
“Ok, I won’t say I love you then, I’ll shut up,” Tony retorts with a smirk and Peter gasps and then laughs.

  
“Alright fine, you can say that, just no more doom and gloom, ok?” Peter bargains.

  
“I have permission to say I love you, ok then, good to know,” Tony counters and Peter shakes his head and laughs before Tony gently cups his cheek, looking into his dark brown doe eyes and leans in to kiss him once. “I love you Peter, and I’m so proud of you.”

  
Peter smiles softly and returns the kiss, rubbing his nose against Tony’s. 

  
“I love you too, and thank you, I didn’t do it alone.”

“Please shut up and just take a damn compliment without trying to spread the accomplishment out to other people,” Tony sighs and Peter laughs again. 

  
“Alright fine, I love you and thank you,” he agrees, kissing Tony again. 

  
“Ok, good, I need sleep now,” Tony groans out and Peter starts pushing pillows out of the way so they can lie down. 

  
Tony does try to respect the whole neutral territory thing between them, he really does but it’s not his fault that Peter gives zero fucks about it and sprawls himself on Tony’s chest the moment he’s lying down, hand on Tony’s heart. He wants to worry about who will find them this way in the morning, but he’s asleep before he can. 


	24. Chapter 24

Tony hears the knock on the door in his dream, some muddled mess of him and Peter driving down the PCH going to a house that Tony used to own and doesn’t even exist anymore. He doesn’t get time to react to the knock before the door opens.

  
“T…” Starts Nat’s voice before she stops for a second, continuing in a slightly altered voice. “Ony.. and Peter, get up, Fury wants to have a meeting, downstairs in the dining room.”

  
She says nothing more and the door closes a moment later and Tony’s eyes pop open. He’s still on his back on the bed, but Peter is draped across him, face nuzzled into Tony’s neck, arm sprawled across his middle and leg thrown over Tony’s. Suddenly Tony wishes he’d seen Nat’s face, could get a read on her thoughts. But too late now. 

  
Peter snores softly into his ear, clearly not having been disturbed whatsoever by Natasha’s appearance and Tony has to nudge him several times to get him to start to respond. 

  
“Ton… what?” He finally mutters out in a sleep garbled voice.

  
“Pete, we gotta get up, Natasha just came in, told us we need to come downstairs for a meeting,” Tony explains, heart picking up speed as he starts to wonder what the meeting might be about. 

  
Peter groans loudly, stretching like a cat and resettling against Tony. 

  
“Need more sleep,” he grumbles out, breathing already evening out as he dozes off again.

  
“Pete! Come on, this sounds important and Natasha just came in here,” Tony repeats, hoping Peter will finally hear the seriousness in his voice. He wonders where May is, had she come in and seen them like this? Gone and said something to the others and now they were being summoned for a very difficult conversation?

  
“What?” Peter groans out, head finally popping up so he can squint at Tony’s face, brows together in confusion. It takes a minute, the sleep fogging up the younger man’s brain but his eyes start to clear as he glances down at their position in bed and then back to Tony’s face. “Oh.”

  
“Yeah,” Tony agrees. 

  
“Shit,” Peter says ineloquently as he slides off of Tony, rolling over to sit up on the side of the bed. “Well, whatever, her opinion doesn’t matter.”

  
“Yeah, that’s gonna depend on what this meeting is about,” Tony points out and Peter glances at him and then shrugs slightly, reaching for a pair of flip flops that someone had been sent out to retrieve for them when they got clothes. 

  
He’s dressed and ready before Tony, neither of them saying anything, but he comes around to help Tony who is finding it more difficult to bend over today thanks to his wound. It was throbbing already and he wonders if there is any Tylenol around but figures it’ll have to wait. Shuri has been by though, while the port remains in his hand, he’s not currently receiving any fluids, so evidently she thinks he’s improving but is being cautious. But that also means she’s been in while they were sleeping.

Another witness. 

  
The hallways are empty as they slowly make their way down, Peter supporting Tony though Tony tries to return the favour, still concerned about Peter’s wellbeing as well. 

  
They hear voices, arguing before they even reach the door and Tony’s heart sinks, fear trickling down his back. He wishes he had Peter’s confidence, ability to not give a shit about other people’s opinions, but he hadn’t been a part of the team as long as Tony. No matter the shit that had gone on within the Avengers in the last few years, in so many ways these people were his misfit family, he did care what they thought, and more than anything, he wanted their support and approval. He’d never tell them that though. 

  
“Who the hell does he think he is?” Shouts Rhodey.

  
“I’m sure he has a good reason,” replies Bruce in a much calmer voice. “We just need to give him a chance, he will explain.”

  
Glancing at each other quickly, Peter pulls the door open and steps inside, Tony following more hesitantly behind him and immediately Rhodes is storming towards him, eyes wide and wild.

  
“Did you know?” He asks angrily and Tony stops dead, confusion replacing the fear. He glances around the room, making eye contact with Natasha for a moment and her expression is perplexed and he’s not sure if it’s about the subject at hand or Tony himself. 

  
“Know what?” Tony stutters out, letting himself be led to a seat by Peter, who then takes up a post behind Tony, hands on the back of the chair. 

  
“That Thor took the Gauntlet?” Rhodes retorts. “You were there in the field with him, why in hell would you let him just take it?”

  
“He wasn’t the only one there,” Steve cuts in. “A lot of us were, a lot of shit was happening.”

  
“Yeah, I mean, I was a little distracted by the whole being stabbed thing,” Tony points out sarcastically. “After Thanos’ purple melon rolled past me, I didn’t really pay attention to him, sorry.”

  
Rhodes huffs angrily, but seems to decide that Tony is telling the truth. 

  
“Why would he take it? What is he planning?” He asks the room.

  
“He is unlikely to be seeking to do anything like what Thanos had planned,” Dr. Strange drawls out. “He did return the Time Stone to me after all.”

  
“We need to smash that thing,” Peter deadpans behind Tony. 

  
“I told you, I am sworn by an oath to protect this stone with my life,” Strange retorts, giving Peter a dirty look. 

  
“Well you did a shit job,” Peter says bluntly. “And Thanos did exactly what I knew he would when he got it.”

“And you did exactly what I knew you would do,” Strange returns, head tilting back slightly as his eyes narrow and it hits Tony. Strange had seen this outcome, knew that what had happened was what had to happen in order for them to win. Giving Thanos the stone was part of a strategy to direct events. 

  
“Did you know he would almost die?” Tony demands, fury coursing through him. “Did you know that Peter’s life would be risked following this little plan that you foresaw in your crystal ball?”

  
“Yes,” the other man replies bluntly. “I also knew he wouldn’t die.”

  
If Tony wasn’t in excruciating pain and exhausted, he’d punch the fucker. He can feel Peter’s fingers digging into the back of his chair, echoing Tony’s emotions. The rest of the room just stares at them for a moment before returning to the task at hand. 

  
“Look, Strange is right, if Thor had any nefarious plans with the gauntlet, he wouldn’t have given the Time Stone back. I think he’s just trying to right things, to fix what Thanos did,” Bruce says gently. “I mean, he left with the tree and raccoon, I don’t think they are exactly the dream team to pull off some major shit.”

  
“I agree with Bruce, I think he’s trying to reverse some of the damage Thanos did. We know Thor, he’s not the kind to start ripping up the universe, he’s the King of Asgard, sworn to protect the nine realms and all that, he will be trying to do the right thing,” Steve adds, nodding to himself. 

  
“Raccoon and tree?” Peter pipes up, sounding completely confused.

  
“Uh, yeah, we didn’t really get an introduction but the raccoon had some pretty impressive weapons,” Bucky adds and Tony can hear Peter scowling. 

  
“I believe his departure with the gauntlet is also what inspired Thanos’ army to pack up and leave as well,” Dr. Strange points out. “I think they mean to follow it and perhaps Thor saw it as a way of stopping the war here, to protect lives.”

  
“Yeah, that sounds like Thor,” Natasha adds. “But he should know by now that he is a part of this team and he doesn’t have to try to do everything alone.”

  
“He feels responsible, like he’s failed to do his job of protecting not only his own people, but his brother and now the rest of the realms, he’ll do everything he can to make it right,” Bruce says gently and the room goes silent for a long moment. 

  
“Still shouldn’t have taken off with the thing though,” Rhodey pipes up eventually, clearly still annoyed at what he saw as a deception, no matter the reason.

  
“Well, I’m sure we will see him again and you can spank him then about it,” Tony replies, exhaustion starting to wash over him along with a grumbling stomach. He’s concerned about Thor for sure, but also doesn’t believe for a second that the Asgardian means them any harm and if anyone knows how to deal with the stones now, frankly it’s him. Tony has a strange sort of faith in the man to do the right thing and honestly, he’s glad it’s not him. “If that’s all, I need a rest and breakfast, is there any coffee?”

  
Rhodes gives him a stern tight-lipped expression for a moment but seems to falter as he looks at Tony’s face. That must mean he looks like shit. 

  
“Um, well, there’s… well there’s one more thing,” Bruce stutters out, awkwardly shuffling from one foot to the other and wringing his hands, eyes on Peter. “The rest of the world knows.”

  
“What do you mean the rest of the world knows?” Tony asks in a quiet voice, praying that it’s not what he thinks it is. 

  
“When I opened Wakanda up, vowed to share and be a partner with the rest of the world, that included allowing some members of select media to visit, under strict rules of course,” T’Challa fills in. “When word of Thanos came, I asked them to leave, for their protection and ours, but it would seem they didn’t get out in time and ended up witnessing more than I would like.”

  
“How much do they know?” Tony demands, voice rising. 

  
“Pretty much everything,” Natasha says in a defeated voice. “We don’t know how they found out about Thanos and his intentions, up until that point there was only talk of the fight, of alien ships landing here but they didn’t know who or why, but somehow they found out.”

  
“You are telling me that the world knows that Thanos was coming here to wipe out fifty percent of life on this planet, in the universe?” Tony chokes out. 

  
Natasha nods, looking down at the table. 

  
“HOW?” Tony yells this time, horrified. This kind of information was panic inducing, terrifying for them alone, how in hell would the rest of the world cope with this? 

  
“Do they know about me?” Peter asks quietly behind him in a small voice. 

  
“We are conducting an investigation to find out how, they have a source, we just have to find it,” T’Challa replies calmly. “And yes, Peter, they know that Spiderman is the one who killed Thanos, who stopped him fully.”

  
“But, do they know who I am?” Peter asks, sounding even more panicked. He’d spent so much time and effort keeping his real identity a secret and it would be devastating for him to have it revealed. His whole life would be ruined, he wouldn’t be able to just be a normal person again. 

  
“No, Peter, no, that hasn’t been revealed and that has given us some clues as to who our mole might be and what position they hold since only a small circle knows your real name,” Natasha assures him and Peter breathes out behind Tony, ruffling the older man’s hair slightly. 

  
“Ok good, let’s keep it that way yeah?” Peter squeaks imploringly. 

  
“Of course Mr. Parker, we will make sure of it,” T’Challa says politely and Tony huffs.

  
“Well considering the rest of the world knows about Thanos right now, forgive me if I don’t have a lot of confidence in your abilities to maintain security and private information right now,” he growls out. “We need to get out of here as soon as possible, get Peter away, where is May?”

  
“She’s helping out in the medical wing, she said you two were sleeping and were fine, so she went to help Shuri, since she’s a nurse and all,” Bruce informs him. 

  
“Tony, you need to be taking it easy, we can take Peter and May home and get them out of here if that’s what they want, but you need to rest,” Steve admonishes him.

  
“Yeah fuck that Cap, I go where he goes, he’s my responsibility,” Tony retorts, pushing himself up from the chair and turning around to Peter. “Let’s grab May and get going.” Peter nods immediately, hands out to help Tony. “Quinjet outside?” He asks the room and Natasha appears at his side. 

  
“Yup, it is, but your ass is getting back in bed, eating something and resting, you guys can leave later if you are up to it,” Natasha says sternly, helping him on his right while Peter takes up a position on his left. 

  
They leave the room without saying a word to anyone else, but it doesn’t seem to matter as they all start talking amongst themselves, not even glancing at the retreating three figures. 

  
The trip back upstairs is slow but just as they reach the room, Natasha grabs ahold of Tony in a death grip and pulls him inside while pushing Peter back simultaneously. 

  
“Peter, go grab some breakfast, I need to talk to Tony,” she demands clearly, leaving no room for argument, especially as she closes the door in Peter’s stunned face. 

  
Heart pounding in his chest, Tony stumbles over to the bed and sits down, leaning back against the headboard but remaining tense. 

  
“You, uh, you wanna talk about what’s going on?” She starts, standing over him with her arms crossed on her chest. 

  
Tony debates on how to answer that question for a long moment. Does he lie? Play stupid? Deflect by flirting? He decides on answering with a question but one that does lead the way to honesty. 

  
“What do you want to know?” 

  
Her lips purse for a moment as she tries to word what she wants to say. It took a lot to flummox Natasha Romanov, but Tony had done it, well and truly. 

  
“Is it what I think it is?” She finally asks, eyes narrowing slightly. 

  
“If you mean a romantic relationship, then yes,” he replies bluntly. 

  
This brings her up short. She was so used to verbal sparring matches with Tony where he would somehow manage not to admit to anything at all and wiggle himself out of whatever he’d done in less than two minutes that having him actually be honest, deadly so, was jarring for her. Enough that her arms drop and she sits down on the bed next to him, brows furrowed as she goes from staring at the wall and then back at Tony and then back to the wall. 

  
“Tony…” She starts, shaking her head slightly. “How… how old is he? He’s just a kid?”

  
“16,” Tony replies, swallowing loudly. No matter how much he knew his relationship with Pete was different, that they were far more equal than age would say, it still hit him every time he said it and he feels awash with guilt. It was a strange tangle of emotions to be sure. “Look, I know what this looks like from the outside, trust me I do, because I’m totally aware of all of the things wrong with this but I’m also aware of all of the things that are right with it, and they outweigh the wrong for us. You don’t know him like I do.”

  
“I may not, but I know the law,” Natasha retorts. “Does his aunt know?”

  
“Yes,” Tony grumbles, embarrassment washing over him again at the reminder of her seeing those phone messages. “She’s the first one who found out, she called the police understandably and Fury intercepted them, put me under house arrest to try to keep us apart.”

  
Her eyes close slowly as all of the pieces click into place in her mind. “That’s why he made me come back, why he got me cleared with Ross, he said you were struggling and needed someone to look out for you,” she breathes out, shaking her head. “He just wanted me to keep an eye on you, keep you in line.”

  
“You really were trying to be a friend though, I know that, I’m sorry for how I treated you,” Tony admits, remembering their arguments in the compound, how he’d constantly made her feel unwelcome, tried to get her to leave. 

  
“I knew something was wrong, I’d never seen you that low, that messed up, I never would have guessed at this though.”

  
“Staying away from him was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Tony admits. “I mean part of me thinks that we should stop, that I should stop it, wait until he’s 18, and if we still feel the same way then, well, fine, he’s legal, it’s all good. But then some world cataclysmic event like Thanos comes along and I can’t help but think, what if we don’t have that much time, what if this is all we’ve got. And I can’t stay away from him, he’s my balance, he gives me more meaning than anything else I’ve had in my life or thought I would have. He’s worth the risk to me.”

  
Natasha’s mouth moves as she contemplates his words, her face is kind, understanding, less judgmental than before. 

  
“But how long do you think this can last Tony, realistically? Yeah, we deal with some stuff that could kill us far more often than anyone should, but that’s the job we signed up for but even putting that aside, and the whole legal and moral issues frankly,” she rambles out before taking a deep breath. “He’s 16, you’re 48, you’re gonna be gone long before him, have you considered that.” 

  
“I know Nat, trust me I know, and it bothers me, but Pete, he doesn’t seem to care, his thoughts are that he’d rather have this time than none at all and frankly I agree. And maybe that makes me selfish because I’m not the one who will be left alone, but he knows, he’s aware and it’s a decision only he can make and he has.”

  
She takes another deep breath and shakes her head once. 

  
“You have to admit it’s weird, I mean, I’ve known you for a long time and there is nothing, no trace of evidence anywhere that told me you would do this, and I mean, you’ve done some weird ass shit in your life,” she points out and Tony tries not to be offended, because frankly she wasn’t wrong. She only barely had met him when he decided to randomly drive a race car and got piss drunk in a suit and then actually pissed in it. 

  
“I didn’t see it coming either, honestly I didn’t and it snuck up on me, I never meant for it to happen but he snuck up on me and I just woke up one day and realized I was in love with him and turns out, he felt the same for me, which was frankly a shock because as you just pointed out, I’m not exactly someone people tend to fall in love with,” he admits and she gives him a look.

  
“That is not what I said at all and you know it, but it’s definitely not the relationship I thought you’d be in either, that you would do something like this, go for someone like him, at his age,” Natasha retorts.

  
“I didn’t think you’d get a hankering for the Hulk either, or that Vision and Wanda could be a thing since he’s basically a robot, and whatever the hell that situation is between Steve and Bucky,” Tony replies, waving his hands in emphasis and giving her his own look. “Sometimes you can’t control these things.”

  
“Steve and Bucky are childhood friends Tony,” Natasha says evenly, eyes narrowing. 

  
“You sure?” Tony hints and she considers it for a moment before shrugging and smirking.

  
“Hot,” she decides. “And I was interested in Bruce, not the Hulk and you know it.”

“They’re a package deal Nat and you know it,” he quips and she frowns at him for a moment. “Look, I get it, like I said, I can totally see how it looks from the outside, but I’m on the inside… poor choice of words,” he winces and she shakes her head, sighing loudly. “I know our relationship, I know Peter better than you, understand him and he understands me. If you want to know how he feels, that he’s ok with this, then talk to him, I think he will surprise you.”

  
She considers him for a minute, mouth tight again but she nods a moment later. 

  
“I should probably keep this to myself for the time being though,” she decides. “Safe to say the more legally conscious ones of our group will not be so understanding but it’s only because I’m your friend, and it’s because I can see the way you are with him that I’m trying to be open minded but I gotta admit Tony, this is a stretch for me, it really is and if I hear anything I don’t like from Peter, my mind may get changed.”

  
Tony nods, that was fair enough and frankly more than he deserved really. 

  
She opens her mouth to say more but a knock on the door stops her, followed by Peter’s aggrieved voice on the other side.

  
“Can I come in now? Tony needs to eat something, doctor’s orders,” he grumbles and Natasha gets up and goes to admit him. 

  
He comes in bearing a tray of food for Tony, giving her a dirty look as he passes before placing it in front of Tony while searching his face with his eyes for answers.

Tony mouths ‘it’s ok’ and Peter nods minutely, helping Tony get settled against the pillows. 

  
“While Tony is eating, perhaps you and I can have a conversation?” Natasha asks Peter pointedly and his dark eyes come back to Tony’s face questioningly. 

  
“It’s ok Pete, I’m good,” he tells him, nodding to let him know that it was alright to talk to her and Peter nods back, wiping his hands on his pants and turning to follow her out of the room, across the hall to another bedroom where she closes the door behind them. 

  
Tony picks at the food, forcing himself to eat because he knows he has to but his stomach is in knots, all traces of hunger gone as he worries about how that conversation is going. He has no doubts in his mind about Peter’s devotion to him, that their relationship makes sense to the two of them, but convincing an outsider of that is a task and a half and Nat was a tough cookie to crack. She was no doubt using her KGB trained skills in questioning on Peter to wiggle every bit of truth out of him and Tony just hopes she hears what she needs to hear. 

  
Footsteps in the hall catch his attention as he’s sipping his coffee and Nick Fury appears at the door, looking over Tony appraisingly before coming in. 

  
“Good to see you doing better, where’s Peter?” He asks by way of greeting, strolling across the room to look out the window while Tony swallows loudly. 

  
“Across the hall talking to Natasha, she figured it out,” Tony tells him, staring intently at his toast instead of at Nick though he still hears the other man’s sharp intake of breath. 

  
“Was bound to happen,” he decides eventually. “I suppose she isn’t too pleased with me, making her babysit you.”

  
“Probably not, didn’t really say, was more worried about whether I had lost my mind or not,” Tony replies, taking a bite of the toast for something to do. 

  
“I have asked myself that daily since I got that police call,” Fury replies. 

  
“I explained everything to her, she’s making sure Peter is on the same page,” Tony tells him, panic returning slightly at what was going on in that room across the hall.

  
“What is your plan Stark? I know you’ve been sneaking out of the compound, you couldn’t even stop despite knowing what the consequences were, so what exactly do you plan to do here because in my experience, dark secrets like this tend to come to light eventually,” Nick asks him, walking away from the window to stand next to the bed with his hands in his pockets, staring Tony down with his one good eye and Tony shrinks. 

  
“I don’t know, I’m not much of a planner,” Tony replies, dropping the toast onto the plate. “I didn’t plan this Nick, I do not mean any harm but I can’t live without him.”

  
“Yes, that much is clear, and I don’t doubt your feelings for him, but I do wonder how far you are willing to go, how much you are willing to lose for him,” Nick returns, eye still on Tony sternly. 

  
“If I’m honest, everything,” Tony shrugs. “That day you found out, that May called the police, I thought about running, about going to a country without an extradition treaty with the US to hide like a coward, but you know what stopped me?” He asks and the older man doesn’t even flinch or move a muscle, just continues staring. “Him. I couldn’t leave him, no matter what it would cost me, I couldn’t leave him, I was willing to lose it all, for him. I have never felt this way about anyone and you know what a selfish bastard I can be, but when it comes to him, I would give it all away for him.”

  
This brings Fury up short, brows going up in surprise, stretching the scars slightly. He contemplates Tony’s words for a moment before nodding. 

  
“You better hope Peter is convincing Nat over there or you may very well lose it all for him,” he points out before turning on his heel to leave before stopping at the door. “I understand that you and Peter wish to return to New York, to protect his identity from getting out, the Quinjet will be ready tonight for you to go.”

  
With that he’s gone in a flap of leather from his coat and Tony stares at the door across the hall, heartburn creeping up his throat. 

  
Natasha and Peter talk for a long time, longer than Tony would like honestly, because he’d really like to know how the conversation is going and he can’t know that until they come out. He spends the time forcing himself to eat the rest of the food that he suspects Peter cooked himself and then he leans back against the pillows and closes his eyes to attempt to rest to be ready for the flight tonight but instead just listens really really hard for the sound of a door opening or better yet, voices on the other side of that door. But evidently the Wakandans built things to be quite soundproof. How dare they. 

  
When he’s unable to sleep, he grabs his phone and pulls up the news, deciding to see just what was being said in the press about what had happened and more importantly about Peter. The headlines are all fairly similar and there seems to be a lot of celebrations going on around the world, people praising the Avengers for saving them all. But the absolute top story, most talked about thing in it all is how Spiderman is a hero and how he had accomplished the impossible. The discussion around his identity was frantic, with people from all over claiming to know who he was and thousands of pictures and videos posted from Pete’s escapades around New York, even including when Thanos’ two douchebag agents had come to New York just a few days ago and Peter had helped Tony fight them off in the park. Even worse, there seems to be a running reward going for finding out the true identity of the Spiderman and Tony feels anger course through him when he sees it. Why couldn’t people just respect that Peter wanted to remain anonymous so he could still live a normal life outside of the superhero stuff? That he just wanted to finish high school, go to college, get to make his own decisions and be his own person. It was frustrating and disrespectful and Tony hates the idea of Peter seeing all of it, but knows he needs to show him. If he tried to hide it, Peter would be pissed with him and what good would hiding it do? The minute they are back in the US, he’s going to know. They just needed to carefully and secretly sneak Peter out of Wakanda and get him home without detection. 

  
Tony’s glad he installed the reflector panels on the jet a while back. They wouldn’t be able to land at the compound though, because judging by the video and pictures he’s seeing, there is a pretty impressive mass of media hanging out around the gates. Illegally, he might add. 

  
He about jumps out of his skin when the door opens across the hall, as absorbed as he is in watching a live report from CNN about what happens next and how they need to do more to protect the world from the Thanos’ out there. Apparently the newscaster has missed the memo that Thanos wasn’t just targeting earth. 

  
Peter steps out of the room first, eyes a little red rimmed but he seems otherwise alright as he hurries in to Tony, climbing onto the bed beside him and leaning their shoulders together. Natasha steps out second, looking calm and she nods at Tony before heading down the hall without saying a word. 

  
“Well?” Tony asks, phone forgotten in his lap. 

  
“It’s ok, I was just honest with her, told her everything and I think she understands now,” Peter admits, reaching down to take Tony’s hand. 

  
“What do you mean by everything?” Tony asks, confusion and worry coursing through him. He has a horrifying mental thought that Peter told her about the camera, which would most definitely not sway her opinion in Tony’s favor. 

  
“My life Tony, about my parents and Ben and how I came to be Spiderman and how much you’ve helped me and how we are a partnership more than anything and…” He stops and stares at Tony’s face a second. “The hell do you think I told her?”

  
“Um, nothing, I just wasn’t sure how much you’d share about our relationship, I mean, there are things she probably doesn’t need to know,” Tony points out awkwardly, eyes getting shifty as Peter frowns at him before realization seems to dawn on him.

  
“I didn’t tell her about the camera,” he whispers harshly. “Safe to say I want that to stay our secret as much as you do.” 

  
“Right, right, I can understand that,” Tony breathes, relieved. “But seriously, she’s ok, she gets it?”

  
“Yeah, she seems to, said that she doesn’t condone it, isn’t really ok with it but also won’t interfere unless she thinks I’m in some sort of danger, whatever that means,” Peter shrugs, picking up Tony’s phone. 

  
“She’s known me a long time, seen some of the worst of me, I think she expects a return of naughty Tony, but I think she will see that you’ve changed me in time,” Tony replies, giving Peter a quick smile but the younger man doesn’t see it, just nods absently as he looks at what Tony has on his phone. 

  
“Fuck,” is his reaction, simple and concise. 

  
“Yup,” Tony agrees. “It’s a shitstorm, Fury is getting us out tonight, Quinjet will be ready, we should tell May.”

  
“Is it safe to be going back? I mean, aren’t they going to be watching for anyone returning to the compound? And we can’t exactly land on the roof of my building, can we?” Peter asks, eyes wide as they search Tony’s face. 

  
“The longer we stay here, the more risk there is at whoever this mole is finding out who you are, and the less time you are out of New York, the better as well, so people who know you aren’t suspicious. We will have to come up with something to explain you being away from school for the past few days,” Tony explains and Peter nods but then shakes his head.

  
“Wait, I jumped off the bus, the school trip to MoMA, I’m sure people noticed, how the hell am I going to explain that?” Peter worries, teeth biting his bottom lip. 

  
“You jumped out when everyone else was staring at the donut right?” Tony asks and Peter nods. “K, safe to say no one saw you leave, and you can just say that when the bus stopped you felt sick and went to find a bathroom or something.”

  
Peter nods again, looking uncertain but knowing they didn’t have much of a choice. 

  
“I can ask Ned if he can help, since he does know, I just hope he keeps his mouth shut,” Peter sighs. “I mean, the upshot is that people probably aren’t going to be suspecting a 16-year-old high school kid, so I have that on my side.”

  
“That’s the spirit,” Tony quips and Peter laughs through his nose once. 

  
“Where are we going to stay? Are you going back to the compound? Who else is coming with us? I don’t want you alone at that compound, you’re still recovering,” Peter starts worrying, turning to stare at Tony with wide eyes again. 

  
“You’re staying at home, to look normal, no idea where I’m going and no idea if anyone else is coming, I assume they plan to stay and wait for Thor, to see if he’s coming back,” Tony replies. He didn’t relish staying at the compound alone himself, but didn’t see much other choice.

  
“You need to stay with us, so we can look after you,” Peter decides, clearly without thinking it through. At all.

  
“Pete, babe, do you honestly think May is going to be ok with that? Seriously?” Tony asks him and Peter deflates slightly. “Not only that, Tony Stark staying with you is going to get a lot of attention.”

  
“Well, if we sneak you in, they won’t know,” he retorts. “And I’ll talk to May, she knows you’re injured.”

  
Tony sighs quietly, nudging Peter’s shoulder with his own. He loves the idea of staying with Peter, wants to stay close to him now more than ever but was also aware of the logistical nightmare that posed. But it wasn’t worth arguing about right now, it was still many hours before they would be arriving in New York, he’d worry about it then. 


	25. Chapter 25

They spend the day intermittently napping and eating, well more Peter forcing Tony to eat small meals and drink lots of fluids and Tony does feel better for it, despite how annoying it starts to get. Shuri comes to remove the port in his hand, checks his wound and his general condition one more time and declares him safe to travel. As dusk starts to fall, they make their way down to the jet, the remains of their suits having been loaded and May joins them. She had popped in a few times, wanting to help as much as possible in the medical wing before they left and as they make their farewells, it becomes clear that it is just the three of them leaving for the time being.

  
“We need to stay to help clean up Tony, as best as we can, but we will be back at the compound soon, to help clean up the media mess from there,” Natasha tells him before reaching in for a rather uncustomary hug, which takes Tony by surprise until he hears her speak in his ear and he realizes it was just a ruse to cover her comment. “Hurt him and I’ll hurt you, understand?” Tony nods dumbly, feeling like it was a stupid request because when in hell would he ever consider hurting Pete. But she seems pretty serious so he figures it’s best to just agree no matter what. 

  
“Thank you, Mr. Parker,” T’Challa is saying to Peter as Tony joins them. “We are eternally grateful for what you did for us and for the rest of the universe, it will not be forgotten and you are welcome here any time you wish.”

  
Peter colors slightly at the praise but nods and mutters a thanks before shaking the King’s hand congenially. Shuri is less formal, giving Peter a tight hug and a big grin, same with Tony and May and despite her somewhat sarcastic and blunt nature, Tony likes her, can appreciate her and hopes to work with her again because her technology is extraordinary. 

  
“Please come visit us in New York any time, I’d love to show you our labs,” he offers and she grins again, nodding eagerly.

  
“I would like that very much,” she agrees before her eyes twinkle with mischief. “Perhaps I can help you upgrade and get more modern,” she jokes and Tony can’t help but laugh, despite his attempt to look offended. 

  
Many more handshakes are done, along with a few hugs and even Steve offers his hand to Tony, and Tony takes it, trying to let bygones be bygones though Pete gives the other man a rather cold look. Bucky seems to have smartly chosen to avoid their departure, likely because of the way Peter had looked at him in the meeting. 

  
Getting on the plane is almost a relief and the silence is oppressive despite the whir of the engines. Tony sets the plane on course and then autopilot and relaxes back in the seat, closing his eyes. Pete plops down in the seat beside him, watching out the window with wide eyes while May sits behind him, saying nothing. In fact, none of them say anything for almost an hour into the flight. Tony is just starting to doze when Peter pipes up finally, breaking the strange sound barrier in the space. 

  
“Tony is coming to stay with us when we get to New York,” he says matter-of-factly, attempting to leave no room for argument but it doesn’t work. 

  
“What?” May asks abruptly just as Tony also responds.

  
“Pete, that’s not a great idea.”

  
“Yes, it is, you’re injured, you can’t be staying alone, you need help right now and you won’t get it at that compound by yourself,” Peter informs him tersely, dark eyes intense as they stare him down before he turns his attention behind his seat to his aunt. “May, he needs help, and you’re a nurse, this is the best option.”

  
She considers it for a minute, face hard as she glances between Peter and Tony in the reflection from the window.

  
“Fine, but to be clear, there will be no bed sharing,” she declares and Peter rolls his eyes.

  
“No shit, my bed isn’t big enough anyway, but he’s hurt, he can sleep in there and I’ll take the couch, nothing’s gonna happen,” Peter retorts and May huffs quietly but relaxes. 

  
“Seriously, I really don’t need to…” Tony starts, hating how awkward it already was in the plane with just the discussion, he couldn't even imagine the three of them sharing space in a more long-term situation but Peter cuts him off.

  
“Tony, stop, it’s done,” he dismisses but his eyes remain intense as they stare at Tony and he starts to get it. It was more than just taking care of Tony, it was just about them being together period, because Thanos and his plans hadn’t just shaken Tony’s core but Peter’s too. They’d both almost died, they needed this. 

  
Nodding, Tony relents and relaxes back in the seat again. Before he fully dozes off he calls Happy and has him agree to pick them up at an abandoned airfield not far from the compound so they could drive into New York undetected. He also asks Happy to pack him some stuff to bring with him and then it’s all settled. 

  
He wakes up when the plane lands, Peter’s hand shaking his shoulder gently. 

  
“Hey, Tony, we’re here, let’s go,” he says softly, crouching down in front of the older man, worry on his face. 

  
Tony startles slightly, looking around as he takes in his surroundings and remembers where he is before yawning and smiling softly at Pete. 

  
“Hey, that was a short flight, I’m glad we’re here though,” he groans as he starts trying to stand. The seats on the plane were generally fairly comfortable, except for someone with a healing stab wound. He’s stiff and very sore and grateful to be getting into a much more comfortable car. 

  
Peter keeps up the worried expression as he helps Tony walk out of the plane to the waiting car, Happy standing next to it looking concerned himself and he quickly opens the door and helps guide Tony inside. 

  
“May, this is Happy, Tony’s friend and driver,” Peter introduces and May gives the other man a friendly smile, shaking his hand while thanking him for picking them up.

She’s the last into the car as Peter gets into the middle, hand on Tony’s knee and worried eyes on his face again. 

  
“Pete, stop looking at me like that, I’m fine alright, just sore from sitting in that position for so long but honestly, I’m good, ok?” Tony sighs out, finally having had enough of it. He appreciated Pete’s concern but it was starting to feel a bit overbearing at this point and Tony wasn’t that used to people fussing over him like this. Even Pepper hadn’t been this concerned when he’d gotten hurt. 

  
The ride is quiet for a while, though Tony keeps catching Happy glancing back at them in the rearview mirror, eyes a bit wide because of what he knows about Peter. 

  
“People are really, like really excited and happy about what you did Peter,” he finally breaks, eyes twinkling slightly and Tony wonders if he’s starting to cry. He glances at Peter and his brows are furrowed, clearly he’s having the same thought.

  
“Uh, yeah, I mean, I just did what I could, that’s all and I just want to go back to my life,” Peter says carefully and his hand flexes on Tony’s thigh and that’s when Tony notices that it’s still there. 

  
He looks up to May, wondering if she’s noticed but she’s not really looking at them at all, instead she seems to be going back and forth between looking out the window and glancing towards Happy. 

  
“Yeah, yeah, I mean, I’m sure that’s what you want and I don’t blame you, and you know, I’ll do everything I can to help with that,” Happy rambles out. 

  
“Cool, thanks,” Peter replies, in a tone that made it clear he was done talking about it. 

  
Happy is careful as they get into Queens, taking time to pull the car into a dark area to scope out the front of Peter and May’s building to make sure there wasn’t by some whim some member of the media or public was hanging out there watching for them, but the street is empty, quiet due to the late hour. Satisfied, he pulls up closer and they all spill out quickly, Peter hurrying Tony inside because while people were used to seeing Peter in the area, as just another kid living there, they certainly weren’t used to seeing Tony Stark and especially not after this huge life altering event that had happened. They had to keep him from being seen because it might make them start looking at who Tony was with and then eyes would be on Peter. 

  
May and Happy follow more slowly, bringing Tony’s bag and talking quietly and it’s a relief when they are all in the living room, the door safely closed. 

  
Peter thanks Happy quickly, urging Tony towards the bedroom, telling him he has to rest and Tony follows, thanking Happy over his shoulder as well. 

  
“Pete, I don’t feel great about taking your bed, I can crash on the couch you know,” Tony offers. 

  
“Tony, you’ve already slept in my bed, what is the issue?” Peter asks and the question feels loaded. He knows he’s been a little bit distant since his conversation with Natasha, but it was jarring having more people know about them, and it makes him feel cautious, though it hasn’t shaken his resolve when it comes to his relationship with Peter. 

  
“Nothing, honestly, it just kinda feels a bit awkward with May here, especially when I know how much she disapproves and really, I get why she does,” Tony rambles out and Peter huffs, mouth a tight line of annoyance. 

  
“Tony for fuck’s sake, she’s dealing with it, she wouldn’t be letting you stay here if she still was that upset about it,” Peter replies.

  
“I don’t think you really gave her a choice in me staying here, me either for that matter,” Tony points out and Peter’s shoulders drop, eyes widening with hurt. 

  
“I want to help you, take care of you and hell, be close to you, I thought you would want to be close to me too, but maybe not,” Peter says quietly and Tony’s heart breaks a little. 

  
“That isn’t the case at all,” Tony says quickly, closing the distance between them and pulling Peter in, one hand on his back, the other cupping his cheek gently. “Babe, there is nowhere else in the world I would rather be than with you, and I appreciate how much you care about taking care of me, but I’m just not used to it I guess.”

  
Peter relaxes under his touch, looking mollified and he leans in to kiss Tony but doesn’t get the chance before May is yelling down the hall. 

  
“Peter? Get what you need and leave him be,” she commands and Peter grumbles, rolling his eyes again. 

  
“Ugh, ok, yeah, it’s awkward with her, but I’m still happy you’re here,” Peter declares, quickly pecking Tony’s lips before reaching for his pajamas and heading out the door before she came looking for him. 

  
Tony laughs and shakes his head, deciding that frankly, he was glad to be here as well. Peter’s bedroom weirdly did feel like home and he certainly had some good memories of being in here. Memories that might make it difficult to sleep if he kept thinking about them, so he controls his thoughts and opens his bag, hunting for pajamas for himself and his toiletries. 

  
He politely lets May use the facilities first, offering to help Peter make up a bed on the couch, which gives them a chance to kiss for a few minutes before she emerges and then they go back to behaving themselves and call it a night. Crawling under Peter’s covers, his smell enveloping Tony, he’s fast asleep before he even realizes he’s tired. 

***

The next morning they converge in the kitchen to discuss their plans on reintegrating into their lives, specifically Peter and May, since Tony was going to just remain at the apartment. It’s Sunday and May thinks that she should go back to work the next day while Peter returns to school, since he has finals coming and needs to be studying and finishing his course work. Peter balks slightly, concerned at leaving Tony home alone but she leaves little room for argument, making it clear they won’t be spending time alone in the apartment at all. Tony keeps his mouth shut, knowing full well he can’t comment and shouldn’t. Instead he takes the time to come up with a spectacular forgery of a doctor’s note for Peter to explain his weeklong absence and while May is a little dismayed at the underhanded tactic, she admits that it’s the best option. 

  
“I figured strep throat was the best choice, and would require this amount of time off for him to recuperate,” Tony decides. 

  
“Yeah, it would make the most sense,” May agrees. 

  
“What about when I left the MoMA trip?” Peter asks behind them, Tony sitting at the kitchen table using Peter’s laptop that Tony had bought and modified for him, May standing beside him watching over his shoulder.

  
“Well, it doesn’t look like anyone noticed your departure from the bus, we would have seen something on social media by now, so like I said, just say you felt sick when you got off the bus and called for your aunt to pick you up,” Tony replies, turning back to look at Peter who considers it before shrugging. 

  
“Yeah I guess, and like you said, I can ask Ned to see if he would be willing to help cover for me.” 

  
“Exactly,” Tony agrees and Peter relaxes more. 

  
They spend the rest of the day on the couch, first watching some of the news coverage, where they are covering multiple huge parties in the streets of major cities, full of people celebrating the Avengers, an outward expression of gratitude for saving them. Spiderman is the biggest representation in the crowds with posters, signs, people in cosplay, huge balloons and quickly crafted statues. Peter is both completely blown away and ill at ease with it and Tony decides it’s time to just stop watching that. Instead he offers the idea of a movie and a pizza and the two Parkers agree. They settle on a comedy and all get comfortable, Peter on the middle cushion with Tony and May at either end. 

  
“I think it’s time we look at getting a new couch,” May says about twenty minutes into the movie, repositioning herself again. “I’d love one of those with the leg rests that flip up,” she decides as she pretzels her legs under herself in an attempt to get comfortable. 

  
“I would like to second the couch motion, because I slept on this thing last night and it wasn’t that great for that purpose, I have to say,” Peter declares, stuffing popcorn into his mouth. 

  
“I’ll start looking next weekend,” May decides and nothing more is said. Tony isn’t sure if he gets an opinion on the matter and it’s over before he even would get a chance to say anything anyway. 

  
It’s strange but he assumes this is what life is like between the two of them, how they are as a family unit and it makes him feel a little like an outsider, like he’s an interloper but one quick sweet smile from Peter erases that feeling. It’s clear that an effort is being made to make Tony a part of the unit, in some form, though clearly Peter and May weren’t on the same page as to what the form was. Tony appreciates it, and it makes him feel a bit more comfortable to be there. 

  
He and Peter behave themselves again getting ready for bed, not pushing any limits and easily going their separate ways and May seems satisfied with this. She makes a quick breakfast in the morning, while Tony makes the coffee, something she loudly appreciates and then they are both readying to go out the door. She had told her work that she needed time off because Peter was sick when she left, so it makes it easier for her going back and since Tony used the name of a different doctor than one who worked with her, there was less chance of any issues cropping up. 

  
Peter hesitates at leaving, face worried again as Tony lowers himself down to sit on the couch. He suspects his days are going to be rather boring alone in the apartment but he doesn’t complain because that would just give Peter another reason to try to stay home and he needed to get back to school if they were going to keep anyone finding out about him being Spiderman. 

  
“Pete, please relax, I’m fine ok, I’ve got what I need here and I promise I’ll spend the day just taking it easy, ok?” Tony assures him. Peter had already prepared lunch for him as well as snacks and had made sure Tony had water around him all the time. Truthfully, just two nights of being there had done some wonders and Tony was feeling a lot better, the pain was even lessening. 

  
“Well, you can call me if anything happens or you need anything,” Peter offers and Tony nods. Since they weren’t really hiding from Fury anymore, they could communicate the normal ways again, thought they had both eagerly agreed to keep all texting conversations safe for work just in case. 

  
“Exactly, please stop worrying and get going or you’re gonna be late, do you have the note?” Tony asks, relaxing back against the couch. He had to agree that it wasn’t that comfortable. It was old, a little ratty and had lost its plushness. 

  
“Yes, I do,” Peter replies tetchily. 

  
“Ok, just checking. I’ll see you later,” Tony replies gently. He wants to give Peter a goodbye kiss, something nice to remember all day but May was watching them like a hawk from the kitchen, so they keep it polite and Peter waves as he goes out the door. 

  
“Ok, well, I’m off as well, my shift is over at four, so I’ll pick Peter up after school since he’s gonna have to stay a little late to figure out what he missed last week,” May informs him as she shoulders her purse, pulling her hair back into a loose ponytail.

  
“Anything I can do while you are at work? Laundry?” Tony offers and she shakes her head. 

  
“If you do anything and hurt yourself worse, he’ll kill me, besides it’s fine,” she replies. “Ok, have a good day, feel better,” she offers before heading out the door. It’s clear it would suit her just fine for him to recover quickly because then he could leave and go back to the compound. 

  
Tony spends the first hour staring numbly at the TV, the coverage of the celebrations and the aftermath of litter all over the streets an ongoing affair on all of the news stations. As he sits there, he decides that the couch is frankly awful and maybe he should just do something about it. Grabbing his phone, it takes him less than ten minutes to find a beautiful replacement that he quickly purchases with his credit card and arranges for Happy to go pick up. He’s not sure how his friend will get it up to the apartment alone, but decides they will figure that out when he gets there. As he’s ordering the couch, he notices a really nice 5K TV that is quite a bit bigger than the current one the Parker’s have and that he knows Peter would love for watching Star Wars and all of his other cult classic movies. So he decides that if he’s going to upgrade the couch, he might as well upgrade their entire entertainment area. Another ten minutes later and he’s bought a 70” TV (he considered larger but decided that the space just wasn’t capable of it and he didn’t want to be excessive), a state-of-the-art sound system and top of the line Blu Ray player for Peter’s DVD’s. He could do more, hell he’d have loved to put in a proper theatre system designed by him, but again, he didn’t want to go too overboard, since he was just a guest currently. 

  
Happy is non-plussed on the phone when he hears what Tony has done but begrudgingly agrees to go fetch it all, convincing an agent at the compound to come with him to help carry it all up the stairs while Tony hides in Peter’s bedroom. Tony hears the guy ask Happy a few times who lives there and why they are doing this and Happy just responds that it’s an old friend of Pepper’s and she had done this as a gift for them after they had beat their latest round of cancer and needed to spend some time home recuperating. Tony is impressed with the lie and is glad he took the time to hide family photos before they got there.

  
When everything is in the apartment, Happy sends the agent on his way in a second car and then Tony joins him and they work together setting everything up before collapsing together on the new, very comfortable chocolate brown leather couch complete with drink holders, leg rests, back massagers and additional neck supports while the original Indiana Jones plays on the TV. 

  
They don’t even hear the key in the lock when May and Peter get home, but they do hear May’s exclamation of surprise.

  
“What the hell? What the hell is this?” She cries out as she comes in, eyes wide as they go from the TV to the couch and back again. “Where… where did this even come from?”

  
“Whoah,” is Peter’s ineloquent response to everything, his own eyes wide and a smile spreading across his lips.

  
“Um, well, you mentioned you wanted a new couch, and then Pete mentioned how uncomfortable it was sleeping on the old one and since I’m the reason he’s out of his bed and since you’ve been so kind letting me stay here, I thought, maybe, I should repay you or you know…” Tony rambles out. He realizes he might have wanted to be a bit more conscientious of May’s response to this. She was a humble but proud woman and he knew she worked hard to provide for Peter, give him a good life and here Tony was showing her up with this huge display of wealth and couches were kind of a personal decision, he probably should have thought of that. 

  
She stands blinking at the items for a long moment, mouth open as she tries to come up with something to say, as a flurry of emotions cross her face. Peter recovers far quicker, dropping his bag on the floor and hurrying over to plop down between Tony and Happy on the couch, wiggling his butt around to test the comfort level before sighing and sitting back with a smile.

  
“This is super nice Tony, thank you,” he exclaims happily, smiling genuinely at Tony but Tony is still focused on May, now feeling rather terrified of her response since it was taking so long to come.

  
“It uh… it has the pop up leg rests you were talking about,” Tony offers lamely, pushing the button to demonstrate it going up and then down a few times. May watches with the same wide-eyed open-mouthed expression, her brows going up the only change but she still takes a few minutes longer to actually find words.

  
“This is… wow, this is a lot,” she finally says, voice full of surprise and a hint of suspicion. Tony starts to worry that maybe she thinks he’s trying to buy her off, get her support for his and Peter’s relationship through expensive gifts but that’s not it at all. He honestly just genuinely wanted to do something nice for them, for her. 

  
“May, chill, it’s a really nice couch and TV, it’s a nice gift,” Peter points out, giving his aunt a look.

  
“Pete, it’s ok, I mean, it is a lot, I didn’t mean to offend you,” Tony says carefully, watching May still as she finally seems to relax a little.

  
“No, no, I’m not offended, just really surprised, that’s all, and it just seems kinda huge in the space but I know Peter loves it, and we did need a new couch…” she trails off, shaking her head once as though to clear it. “Um, thank you, honestly, it’s a nice gesture, though maybe the sound system is a bit much, I don’t want to piss our neighbors off.”

  
Tony turns and looks at the elaborate system of speakers and bars and realizes she’s right, an apartment is not exactly the best place for something this powerful. 

  
“Yeah, I probably should have thought that through, I got a little carried away, we can return that stuff,” he offers and immediately Peter balks.

  
“Hell no, we can finally get revenge on Mr. Hawkins across the hall, he’s always yelling and leaving garbage around,” he declares indignantly, grabbing the remote and playing with it until he manages to get the volume to go up, the floors shaking slightly. “Ok, too much,” he decides after quickly turning it back down to the sound of the three others in the room shouting at him. 

  
“Ok well, thank you again, um, I’ll just get started on making something nice for dinner, as a proper thank you,” May offers and a pang of fear runs down Tony’s spine, the meat brick still a fresh and terrifying memory.

  
“Um, actually, since Happy helped me out all day, going and getting all of this and then helping me set it up, I promised him some Indian food from his favorite place,” Tony hurries out, throwing a look towards Happy, hoping his friend would play along but he just gets a perplexed face in response so Tony quickly carries on talking. “So, we can just order and then, you guys can tell me how your day was.”

  
May glances at Happy, checking the truth of Tony’s offer and frowns slightly at the other man’s expression but nods anyway. 

  
“Ok, sure, um, Peter knows what I like, I’m just gonna go get changed,” she mutters out before heading down the hall, her bedroom door closing.

  
“She’s pissed, isn't she?” Tony asks Peter the second she’s out of earshot.

  
“She’s not pissed Tony, she’s just not used to getting elaborate gifts and she still doesn’t really trust you,” Peter points out, being honest. “Your transparent attempts to avoid her cooking aren’t helping. Sometimes you just have to let her do it, choke it down and get through it because it hurts her feelings otherwise.”

  
“But, the meat brick,” Tony reminds him.

  
“Yes, I know, trust me I’m familiar with that meat brick, too familiar, but she means well and she likes to take care of people, it’s probably why she’s a nurse. If you want her to like you, you might have to make some sacrifices,” Peter informs him, giving him a stern look and Tony nods, swallowing hard. 

  
“Ok fine, but at least tonight we are alright.”

  
“Her cooking can’t be that bad,” Happy finally pipes up, glancing towards May’s room and then back to Peter and Tony, who both stare at him with identical deadly serious expressions.

  
“Yes, it is,” Peter deadpans.

  
“You didn’t see the meat brick,” Tony adds.

  
“Oh come on guys, be nice, she’s a lovely woman, I think you’re exaggerating,” he huffs out, crossing his arms over his chest and sitting back against the couch.

  
Tony stares at him for a moment, unsure of where that outburst came from but he shakes it off and pulls out his phone, pulling up the menu for the Indian place and he and Peter quickly place an order. They are just finished when May remerges from her bedroom in a rather cute and slightly overdressed outfit considering they were just hanging out on the couch watching TV. Peter turns fully to stare at her with his brows furrowed and she catches his expression as she heads to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.

  
“What?” She asks innocently. “Did you put in the order? Do you want me to go pick it up?” She offers.

  
“Why are you dressed up?” Peter asks her, even her hair has been brushed and she seems to have put on a bit more makeup. 

  
“I’m not dressed up at all, I’m just not in my uniform, maybe you’ve forgotten what that looks like,” she jokes with a quick forced giggle. This makes Peter frown even harder but Tony has finally started to catch on to what’s going on and he laughs once quietly, hand going out to squeeze Peter’s arm quickly to get him to stop questioning her.

  
“Um, Happy here has offered to go get it, so it’s alright if you just want to relax,” Tony offers and Happy turns to give him another perplexed and annoyed look, since he most definitely had not offered a damn thing. 

  
“Oh!” May says sharply, eyes glancing towards Happy, then to Tony and then back to Happy. “Well, why don’t I go with you? If I know Peter, he’s ordered a lot of food, so extra hands to carry it will probably help,” she offers and Happy immediately melts, looking quite pleased with her suggestion.

  
“I did not order that much food at all,” Peter balks loudly while Happy talks over him.

  
“Yeah, that would be great, I’d appreciate the help after carrying this heavy stuff up here all day,” Happy agrees and Tony thinks he sees him actually flex his arms a little. 

  
“Great, I’ll just grab my coat and purse,” May chirps happily, quickly heading to the closet and Happy pops up off of the couch while Tony quickly texts him the address of the restaurant and slips him his card to pay for it. 

  
“Ok well, we will be back in a bit,” Happy says awkwardly as he stumbles past Tony and Peter’s feet, the younger man still looking furious at the entire exchange because he clearly didn’t see what was actually happening and instead was just offended at being called a pig. 

  
Seconds later they are gone, Happy holding the door for May like a gentleman and she gives him a demure smile as she passes. The moment they are gone, Tony starts laughing, hard enough that it brings tears to his eyes while Peter just sits looking like an angry bull next to him.

  
“What the hell was that?” Peter demands. “I didn’t order that much food, she didn’t need to go with him at all.”

  
Tony has to breathe hard for a moment to control his laughter but Peter’s face was not making it easy at all. 

  
“Peter… you fucking idiot,” he finally manages. “Can you seriously not see what’s going on between the two of them?”

  
“What? No, what do you mean?” Peter demands, brows together and mouth a tight line. 

  
“Seriously? Come on babe, look at how they behave around each other, how she dressed when she knew he was here, the makeup, her going with him has nothing to do with how much food we ordered, she was just finding an excuse,” Tony explains and he watches as Peter’s face goes through the mental calculations, from anger to confusion to realization, it’s enough to make him start giggling again. Seconds later, Peter snorts and starts laughing too, pushing Tony’s arm in faux offense.

  
“Shut up, I guess I’ve never really seen her behave like that, so I didn’t know what I was looking at,” he finally admits. “I don’t know how I feel about this though, it’s kinda weird.”

  
“Pete, your aunt is allowed to move on with her life, find some happiness and Happy is a good guy,” Tony tells him gently, pulling him in close to his side easily. 

  
“Oh I know, I don’t begrudge her it at all, in fact I’d be happy to see her find someone, I don’t want her to be lonely, but it still feels a little weird, I mean, Happy? Really?” 

  
“He’s a good guy, despite his gruff exterior,” Tony assures him. “I’ve known him for a long time.”

  
“Ok, well I do trust your opinion, but if he hurts her, he will have me to deal with,” Peter declares and Tony laughs again. “He knows that I’m sure.”

  
Peter goes quiet for a long moment, staring off into the distance and Tony leaves him with his thoughts. He knew it probably wasn’t easy dealing with the idea of her dating, because he had been raised basically by her and his uncle Ben, they had been the constants in his life and even though Ben had been gone for two years, those memories and that life was still fresh in his mind. But Pete would want his aunt to be happy, to find love, he would never take that away from her. 

  
He gently starts running a hand up and down Peter’s arm, thinking that the younger man was still mentally processing his aunt dating and all the potential emotions that entailed and he didn’t want to push it. Turns out Peter’s mind was on something else because seconds later he leaps, throws a leg across Tony’s lap and straddles him while capturing his mouth in one smooth move. 

  
Startled, Tony forgets to kiss back and Peter giggles into his mouth.

  
“Tony, we’re alone right now,” he points out with one raised eyebrow and Tony’s mind blanks while his dick starts filling. Immediately he starts mentally doing calculations on time to and from the restaurant, the likelihood of the food being ready, the potential for traffic, all to try to estimate how much time they had and whether it was enough. Peter laughs again and starts kissing a trail down his neck, his rough tongue leaving a trail that’s enough to make Tony moan. 

  
Pulling the younger man’s head back up he returns the original kiss he got with impressive force and intent and Peter returns the moan in response. Hands on Peter’s hips, he pulls him closer, grinding up into Peter’s crotch, desperate for friction, to feel his body heat, his presence solid and hot against him. Tony knew he was a touch pent up, but at this point, he’s fairly certain he could come in his pants from just this right now. 

  
“Not on the couch,” Peter manages to say between kisses, though he makes no effort to get up.

  
“Why not?” Tony asks, figuring that they needed to christen it somehow and also, he’s not sure he’ll last to the bedroom anyway, but he’s not about to admit that.

  
“My aunt will be sitting here,” Peter responds with a laugh, finally leaning back, smirk on his red swollen lips. His face is flushed and his hair is a mess, he’s gorgeous and already looks completely fucked out. 

  
“What she doesn’t know, won’t hurt her,” Tony points out and Peter’s head goes back as he laughs and Tony seizes the opportunity, latching onto his neck with his mouth, kissing and sucking and Peter’s laugh cuts off into a moan. 

  
A moan that turns into a groan of frustration when Tony’s phone rings. 

  
“Ignore it, we don’t have much time,” Peter instructs, starting to scramble off of Tony’s lap and reaching for him to pull him towards the bedroom but Tony makes the mistake of glancing down at it and seeing the caller. Rhodey, and it’s a video call. They’d been told to answer any and all calls from the military man as he would be giving them updates. 

  
“Pete, it’s Rhodey, I gotta answer,” Tony says with an annoyed sigh, reaching for the infernal device while his other hand runs through his hair to fix it. Peter slides ungracefully off his lap sideways onto the couch, flopping in a heap beside him with a rather impressive pout on his lips.

  
“Dammit, I just wanna get laid,” he grumbles out and Tony snorts quietly.

  
“Is that all I am to you?” He asks with faux offense and Pete shrugs and nods.

  
“Yeah, right now, I just want your dick,” he says in a deadpan voice and Tony laughs while his desired member twitches in agreement. 

  
Taking a deep breath, Tony tries to get control of himself before answering the call. 

  
“Rhodey, what’s up?” He asks as he flips the phone to make the holograph screen larger so he can see better. He intentionally angles it so only his shoulders upward are visible, to hide the Peter influenced bulge in his pants. Pete grumbles beside him but hauls himself back up to a more normal sitting position next to Tony, peering at the screen. 

  
“Thor is back,” James responds, sounding rather peeved. 

  
“Um, isn’t that a good thing?” Tony asks, unsure of what the problem was and almost feeling like he didn’t want to know.

  
“He took off with the stones Tony, without telling us what he was planning on doing with them,” Rhodey snarls out. So clearly he wasn’t over that yet. 

  
“I removed the stones from this planet in order to lead Thanos’ army away and to return them from whence they came,” Thor thunders out in the background and Tony and Peter glance at each other before Peter comes in closer so he can see better, putting both of them in the frame for Rhodes. 

  
“You could have told us that,” Rhodey counters angrily and Tony hears Nat huff in the background. 

  
“Wait, is everyone there?” Tony asks.

  
Rhodes responds by turning the phone himself and creating a larger view of the team gathered in a large white, elegantly furnished room. 

  
“Yeah, yeah, we’re all here,” Bruce replies, awkwardly coming closer. “Thought we’d just call you so you would hear everything same as us.”

  
“What do you mean, from whence they came?” Tony asks Thor, who he can see near the back, leaning nonchalantly on a table with his arms crossed over his huge chest. 

  
“I returned them to where Thanos stole them from,” he replies, eyeing Rhodey. “As best as I could. Their power is too great for just one being to possess.”

“Returned them to where though? I thought Asgard was destroyed?” Peter asks quietly, knowing that subject was a bit sore for the Asgardian King. 

  
“It is indeed, I had to improvise in regards to the Aether, but it is hidden well, as is the Tesseract,” Thor replies.

  
“What about the soul stone?” Tony asks. It was one of the more unknown ones, the one none of them had ever encountered before and it seemed rather insidious in power. 

  
Thor goes quiet for a long moment, sadness crossing his face and the population of both rooms seem to be holding their breath. 

  
“The Soul stone was returned to Vormir, I had hoped that by returning it, we would be able to restore the life that was sacrificed in order for Thanos to retrieve it in the first place, but sadly, it didn’t work,” Thor says quietly. He’s quiet for another long moment before he starts explaining more about the Guardians of the Galaxy, the rag tag team he had met after Thanos had killed Loki and destroyed the getaway ship Thor was on. 

  
“So, the tree and the uh, the raccoon? They are members of this group of Guardians?” Steve asks carefully.

  
“Yes, mighty warriors, they helped me get to Knowhere, where I was able to acquire my new axe that I hit Thanos with,” Thor explains. “Speaking of which, we make a good team Peter, we should do it again sometime,” he grins at the screen and Peter sits back slightly, startled. 

  
“Um, I mean, probably not, because that whole situation really sucked, but thanks I guess,” Peter stutters out. 

  
“Who is Gamora and why did Thanos kill her?” Nat asks in the background, trying to get Thor back on track in his story.

“She is the daughter of Thanos,” Thor replies confidently. “Well, adopted daughter I guess, in fact I’m fairly certain he abducted her from her planet after massacring her family and half of the population there.”

  
“Jesus,” Tony mutters, horrified at the thought. 

  
“He murdered his own daughter?” Steve asks, sounding horrified himself. 

  
“In order for Thanos to get the stone, he had to sacrifice the thing he loved most, a soul for a soul,” Thor explains. “Starlord had hoped that by returning the stone, we could retrieve her soul, reverse the exchange but sadly, that’s not how it works.” 

  
“That’s so awful, that poor girl,” Wanda says quietly in the background. 

  
“Ok, so the soul stone is back on this planet,” Rhodey starts in, pacing the floor as he starts taking stock before they got bogged down by the negative they could do nothing about. Tony knows he’s not unsympathetic, just practical. “You’ve hidden the Tesseract and the Aether, the Time Stone you gave back to Dr. Strange, that leaves two, where are they?”

  
“Here, I brought them back here as the Mind Stone was here and with Xandar and the Nova Corps destroyed, I was unable to return the power stone to where it was.”

  
Tony sees Wanda start in the very corner of the screen, her pretty face turning up quickly as she sits forward from where she was leaning on a desk. 

  
“The mind stone is back here?” She asks quietly, eyes flicking towards Tony on the screen and then back to Thor and Tony knows exactly what she’s thinking. He starts weighing it out in his mind. Rebuilding Vision in a physical sense was the easy part, his body was still in Wakanda, and likely could be repaired. But the use of the stone, the creation of Vision as a being, that was more tricky since Tony and Bruce had basically been taking some serious leaps in logic and experimentation to do that and there was no way to know if Vision himself would come back or they would just create a whole new AI being. 

  
“I don’t know if we could do it Wanda,” Tony tells her and she turns more towards him, walking towards the screen, her big eyes pleading.

  
“Do what?” Natasha asks, following Wanda, brows pulled together in confusion. 

  
“Rebuild Vision,” Bruce supplies from the back of the room. There is a quiet collective gasp and Tony feels Peter tense beside him, dark eyes searching the side of Tony’s face. 

  
“Could you? Is there a chance that’s possible?” Steve asks. 

  
“His body, it’s still there isn’t it?” Tony asks Bruce, who is peering at him over Wanda’s shoulder.

  
“I mean yeah, he’s downstairs, we weren’t really sure what to do with him,” Bruce says with a shrug and Wanda looks slightly stricken at the mention of what was essentially Vision’s corpse. 

  
Tony nods once, mind running through all of the calculations, the possibilities and the work they would have to do. All of it impinged on how much damage had actually been done when Thanos had pulled the stone out.

  
“Go look, if you can, assess the damage, send me a rundown and I’ll look at it,” Tony tells Bruce, who nods, looking solemn in the task and Tony feels bad. Yes, Vision was essentially a robot, but he was a highly specialized, very realistic one, that they considered a friend. It wasn’t going to be easy for Bruce to look at him in this state, assess his damage and try to decide whether he could be reconstructed or not. “We can’t make any promises Wanda, but we will see if it’s possible, that’s all we can do at this point.”

  
She nods, a flicker of hope crossing her features and it gives Tony a boost of purpose. He still felt immensely grateful to her for helping Peter when he was dying in that field, despite her pain and sorrow. He owed her this. 

  
“As for the power stone, I vote that it remains in Wakanda,” Steve adds, shifting the subject. “I think this is the safest, most secure place for it.”

  
“What? No! It should be coming back to the compound, where we can keep it safe and secure,” Rhodey hollers. 

  
“Calm your tits Rhodey, we don’t exactly have a great track record with keeping those damn stones safe when we have them,” Tony points out, hating to agree with Steve, but actually seeing his reasoning. He’d seen the incredible technology in Wakanda, knew how much of a strong hold there was there, and how reasonable and sensible King T’Challa was. It was the best option. “As much as I hate to admit it, Steve’s right, it needs to stay there.”

  
“Seriously Tony?” Rhodey blusters out, eyes bulging slightly, stunned that Tony Stark would turn down the opportunity to have something like the power stone within his reach but Tony had learned one hell of a lot over the past week and few days, hell he’d learned a lot since Peter had come into his life. He knew much better now what was the right thing to do, even if he’d love to play with that stone, build all kinds of toys with it, but that was impractical and frankly idiotic. 

  
“Yes, completely, we need to think big picture from now on, we got caught with our pants down with Thanos, we need to be smarter, more savvy and Wakanda is essentially a fortress, it’s the best place to keep it safe,” Tony says calmly and Rhodes responds with a dirty look and flared nostrils but he says nothing more. 

  
The door to the apartment opens and May comes hurrying in, eyes quickly searching for Tony and Peter and it’s clear that it had occurred to her what she had done leaving the two of them alone. She looks relieved when she sees them parked on the couch, talking on the video chat fully clothed. Happy follows her in a moment later, arms laden with bags and face curious. 

  
“Ok, well, is there anything else?” Tony asks, glancing towards May and Happy and then back at the screen to hint that they were no longer alone and Rhodey quickly picks up the phone so only he is visible again.

  
“Yeah, that’s it for now, we will call if anything else comes up,” he says with a quick smile. 

  
“I’ll uh, I’ll send you an update when I know more,” Bruce says in the background.

  
“Ok thanks, have a good one guys, thanks for keeping us updated,” Tony signs off, ending the call. 


	26. Chapter 26

Dinner is an uneventful affair, aside from the sneaky looks between May and Happy, which are amusing for a short while but grow boring when they go no further than that. He does smirk at Happy a few times when he notes his friend using much better manners than he was known for, including using a napkin for its intended purpose. May recovers from her own personal horror at accidentally leaving Peter and Tony unchaperoned when she finds out that they had been talking to the team the entire time and they all settle in the living room for a movie after dinner before calling it a night. Happy and May have a quiet murmured conversation at the door as he is leaving and Tony strains to hear it but he’s not lucky enough to have Peter’s super hearing. Peter was in the shower, so he wasn’t even there to listen and then report back to Tony after the fact. 

  
Happy gone, she waits until Tony has retreated to Peter’s bedroom and Pete to the couch before she heads to bed herself, making sure no shenanigans were being plotted. The trouble was, no matter how much Tony tried, his dick refused forget his and Pete’s make out session on the couch earlier and how they had been rudely cut off from going any further. He had to agree with Pete frankly, he really wanted, no needed, to get laid. Especially when the subject of every desire he had was just a few dozen feet away on the couch. So close, yet so far. 

  
He tries thinking of decidedly unsexy things like his time in Afghanistan or the Hulk in a speedo, but the first only gives him anxiety, the second made him shudder, but neither quelled the need in his pants. 

  
He really doesn’t want to jerk off in Pete’s bed. That just seemed immensely rude and May was literally one thin wall away. But going to the bathroom to get off wasn’t much of an option either, because once again, thin walls and no doubt Peter would at least suss out what he was up to. 

  
An hour after going to bed, Tony is still tossing and turning, trying to sleep, pretend that he wasn’t still half hard in his pants but it’s no use. Glaring at the wall, he considers potential options to cause pain as distractions when a noise gets his attention. The soft click of the door opening and a breeze crossing the room as it closes again quickly and just as quietly. 

  
Rolling over, he stares into the darkness and sees the barest of movement coming towards him before Pete’s face crosses into the moonlight and the younger man smirks down at him, holding one finger up to his lips to indicate that Tony should be quiet. Unsure of what Peter is up to, but still very happy to see him, Tony sits up and reaches for him but Peter shakes his hands off, reaching into a drawer for something before grabbing the extra blanket off the end of the bed and motioning for Tony to follow him towards the window. 

  
Sliding it open as carefully and silently as possible, he lifts it enough to slip out and again waves for Tony to follow before he starts up the fire escape towards the roof. Tony tries to be as silent as Peter but still feels like he’s being too loud as he tiptoes across the floor, slipping his feet into a pair of flip flops before clambering out the window, bumping his head on the way and cursing quietly. The stairs sound abominably loud as he follows Peter up, the metal groaning slightly and clanging a few times, making Tony stop dead and stare in fear at the window but May doesn’t appear and he quietly carries on until he meets Peter on the roof. 

  
The night air is warm, spring working its way into summer and the sky is clear, the moon illuminating Peter in his white t-shirt standing in front of Tony with a look of anticipation on his face before he surges forward and captures Tony’s mouth with his. The kiss is desperate, rough and slightly sloppy, illustrating just how badly they wanted and needed this. 

  
Tony slides his hands around Peter’s back and down to his ass, gripping it with more force than was probably necessary and Peter giggles into his mouth before grabbing the waistband of Tony’s pants and starts to pull him towards the brick enclosure housing the door to the roof. The area is an L shape, with a hidden corner behind the air conditioning unit that Peter often went behind when he and Tony were talking and jerking off together, it was where he wouldn’t be seen. 

  
In the alcove, Tony presses Peter against the wall roughly, reaching down and grabbing his thighs to lift his legs to press into him further in jerky thrusts, making both of them moan. 

  
Tony knows he’s not going to last, there isn’t a chance in hell, so he decides that if they are going to do this, it needs to happen fast. Dropping Peter’s legs, the younger man almost topples over but manages to stay upright by grabbing onto Tony, laughing once before getting a hand into Tony’s hair and gripping it hard to pull him in for another kiss. 

  
Tony doesn’t fight the hand or the kiss, he just busies his hands at the same time, pushing Peter’s pants down first and then his own before he feels something being shoved into his chest by Peter’s free hand. Feeling for it awkwardly without breaking the kiss, Tony gets his hand around the bottle of lube and a condom and grins into the younger man’s mouth, earning him another laugh from the other man. 

  
Kissing Peter one more time roughly, Tony backs up enough to turn Pete around before ripping the condom open and rolling it on quickly. He knows Peter loves to feel him come inside him, but this wasn’t really the best time for that, since Peter suddenly getting in the shower again was bound to raise a lot of questions and alarms. So it was only prudent. 

  
Condom in place, Tony quickly slicks himself up with lube before wrapping his hand around Peter’s hip, angling him and bending him over slightly before starting to press inside of him. The heat and tightness enveloping him makes him see stars and he knows he’s going to come embarrassingly fast, but right now he’s not even sure he cares and judging by the sounds coming from Peter’s throat, he’s not the only one. 

  
It takes no time to get fully sheathed, pressing right against Peter as he rolls his hips a few times to really feel the younger man around him and Peter moans loudly, the sound breaking off into a loud gasp. 

  
“Fuuuuckk Tony… shit I needed this, needed you inside me,” Peter mumbles out, voice deep and filthy with arousal. 

  
Cock twitching from just the sound of Peter’s voice, Tony quickly starts fucking him in earnest, and each hard thrust elicits a sharp cry from Peter’s throat, hand rapidly stroking himself and he spills quickly, clenching around Tony who starts speaking in tongues as his orgasm rushes over him. It’s a full body, leg shaking, heart pounding affair and quite possibly the hardest he’s ever come and after only fucking for like 3 minutes. 

  
Panting, Peter slumps against the wall and Tony slumps against him, arms barely able to support himself, head flopped on Peter’s shoulder as he breathes hard. 

  
“This was a good idea,” Tony finally manages to say, Peter’s shirt starting to dampen from his breathing under his cheek. A quick chuckle is the response before Peter pushes back against him, letting Tony slide out before turning around and kissing him, pressing their naked fronts together and Tony grimaces slightly at the feeling of the condom still on him. 

  
Keeping his mouth on Peter’s, he slips his hands between them and slips it off, tossing it off to the side before pulling Peter’s body back against his. They kiss this way for a long while, long enough that the air start to feel chilly on their naked asses and they begrudgingly pull their pants up. 

  
Tony laments having to go back downstairs to bed. He has Pete all to himself right now, he doesn’t want to let it go quite so soon, despite knowing that Peter really did need to sleep since he had to be up early for school but he was feeling selfish. Once they are dressed, Peter producing a small packet of wet wipes for a final clean up with many compliments from Tony on his thoughtfulness, he grabs Tony’s hand and pulls him out of the alcove and around the corner to where he dropped the blanket earlier. Tony can’t help the smile that spreads across his face as he watches Peter quickly spread it on the ground before sitting down with his back against the wall and then patting the space between his knees for Tony. Not needing to be asked twice, Tony settles between Peter’s legs and leans back against his chest, the comforting thump of Peter’s heartbeat against his back feels like heaven to him. 

  
Peter’s arms lace around his chest, holding onto him tightly as he presses his cheek against Tony’s ear, nuzzling him and tickling him with his breathing. 

  
They are quiet for a long time, just enjoying being able to touch each other so easily and Tony closes his eyes to focus on just feeling Peter’s hands, his body, his warmth and solidness all around him. 

  
“Hey, look, a shooting star!” Peter blurts out suddenly and Tony jumps slightly, eyes snapping open as he looks up at the sky, the stars twinkling as normal above him. “Isn’t there a meteor shower happening tonight? Or has that already past?”

  
“Um,” Tony replies ineloquently, mentally trying to catch up in his post orgasm haze. “Yeah, I think it’s this week, the Aquarids I think it’s called, it’s late this year,” Tony replies, remembering something being said on the news. He’d never really paid much attention to the whole meteor shower star watching thing, it never held his attention and now looking up to the sky felt different, what with everything that had happened. Peter senses his shift, the slight tension in his body as Tony stares at the sky with a new perspective, a more insidious one. 

  
“What’s wrong? Did you see something?” Peter asks him, body shifting slightly as he looks around for what might have alarmed Tony.

  
“No, no Pete, I didn’t see anything but I was just thinking of all the shit that has come out of the sky, the Chitauri, Thanos, we never even saw it coming either, that’s the scariest bit,” Tony says, hands rubbing Peter’s knees before wrapping around his thighs. “It just makes me think, what else is out there?”

  
Peter huffs quietly, arms around Tony tightening. 

  
“Yeah I’d never thought of that, what if there is another Thanos?” He asks, voice sounding worried. “You almost died, so did I, I don’t think I could deal with that again.”

  
Immediately Tony wishes he’d kept his mouth shut, had lied about what he was thinking because they were having such a lovely time, cuddled together with Peter watching the stars and Tony enjoying being held and now he’d gone and ruined it with omens of doom and gloom. 

  
Sitting up he turns around just enough to be face to face with Peter and smiles gently at him. 

  
“Pete I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have mentioned it and really, what are the chances of another Thanos? Thor doesn’t seem worried,” he says quietly, cupping Peter’s cheek in his palm, thumb brushing the delicate skin under his eye lovingly. 

  
“Yeah, but that’s Thor and he didn’t even know about Thanos to begin with,” Peter points out and Tony has to admit, he’s got a point. The Asgardian had been just as surprised by Thanos as the rest of them and he had a tendency to be easily distracted and not exactly the best at staying on top of what was going on out there in the universe. It was how Loki seemed to always be able to get the drop on him. 

  
“Yeah I know, but I think we are ok, I feel pretty strongly that Thanos is about as big as it gets, because really, how many of them could be running around up there causing trouble?” Tony asks, smiling at Pete again before leaning in to kiss him gently. Peter relaxes under his touch, fingers threading into Tony’s hair. 

  
It lasts until Peter yawns into Tony’s mouth, making both of them laugh. 

  
“Ok, I think it’s time we get to bed, you have school tomorrow,” Tony says gently and Peter nods. “We will be doing this again though yes?” Tony asks hopefully and Peter grins at him.

  
“Hell yes, so long as you can learn to be a little quieter on those damn stairs,” Peter teases him.

  
“Well now that I know what the incentive is, I’m sure I can manage it,” Tony says seriously and Peter laughs. 

  
They quickly collect the blanket and bottle of lube and head towards the stairs. Peter leans over slightly first, just to make sure there was no one below them before he helps Tony over the edge and then hops over himself. Tony does make the effort to be a little less lead footed as he goes down, creeping on the balls of his feet and he feels pretty satisfied with his progress until he accidentally trips slightly and causes a pretty loud clang that makes both of them freeze one floor up from their destination. They stare at each other wide eyed for a long moment, listening hard for the sound of anyone coming to check on what was happening but no windows open and no lights come on and after another tense few moments, Tony starts moving again. He creeps in the window to Peter’s bedroom first, taking the blanket and tossing it on the chair before helping Peter in. As silent as mice they kiss quickly before Peter creeps to the door and slips through it, tiptoeing down the hall to the couch. Tony quickly folds the blanket and puts it back before slipping his shoes off and getting back into the bed. 

  
Despite the release and adrenaline rush of being with Peter, he finds he still can’t sleep. He loves these stolen moments with Peter, because he will take anything he can get but he can’t help but wish they didn’t have to slink around. He knows they aren’t going to get May’s approval any time soon and that fact frustrates him even more, because he just wants so much to be with Peter in the open. To not have to hide their relationship so they can have all the time together they want, to be affectionate when they want and to sleep in the same bed dammit. 

  
But he knows it won’t happen, in so many ways that it’s too much to ask and he should be grateful that May is tolerating him just being under the same roof right now.   
He will just have to be happy with sneaking around, because it was better than nothing. 

***

The rest of the week goes by quietly. They mutually decide they can’t sneak out too often to the roof because it was so risky, but also because Peter really did need to focus on school during the week, what with finals and end of term projects he needed to work on. He especially seemed to be struggling with getting back into a routine. It was one thing to be off for a summer and then get back into a school sort of schedule, but a whole other thing to have the weight of the knowledge he did in his head and have to pretend like he was just plain old Peter Parker every day. 

  
The good news is that he has managed to patch things up with Ned, and his best friend has become a great support for him at school, helping keep his identity a secret and just being there when Pete needed someone to talk to. 

  
Tony isn’t jealous, not outwardly anyway and he’d certainly never admit to it. And the fact that he starts to take on a more caretaker role at home has nothing to do with it. That Peter knows of. 

  
As each day passes, he spends it cleaning, cooking (usually take out that he warmed up, but again, what Peter and May didn’t know, didn’t hurt them) and doing laundry. May seems suspicious at first, but she doesn’t say anything and starts to enjoy it by the end of the first week. In fact, she seems to relax more around Tony, talking to him and asking him questions about himself, trying to get to know him. He takes on an honesty is best policy and tells her the truth every time. About how he grew up, his dad, his mom, how they died and what he knew about that. Like Peter, she decides she hates Bucky on Tony’s behalf but he tries to explain that even he knows at this point that Bucky and the Winter Soldier are in fact two people sharing one body and that Bucky would never have committed the atrocities himself. 

  
On Friday night, he gets woken by Peter creeping into his room and poking his shoulder repeatedly, causing Tony to wake up abruptly with a loud snort that results in some quiet giggling from the other man. They sneak up to the roof again and into their alcove, hands all over each other, mouths too and repeat the other night. Tony will never get enough of that feeling of first entering Peter, the tight heat, his skin soft under Tony’s hands and the strong muscles that hold him in place. They cuddle on the blanket after again for a while, watching a thunderstorm creep its way towards them, lightening streaking across the sky. The first raindrops force them back downstairs and it rains all the way through until Sunday, much to their general disgruntlement. 

  
May has the weekend off, and continues to pepper Tony with questions, Peter as well, as she edges more towards how their relationship began. That’s when Peter finally tells her the truth about how he was bitten, where his abilities came from and that leads into Tony telling her about Germany. She’s horrified at first, that Tony would recruit a kid into fighting a battle for him, but Peter excitedly tells her about how he helped and the suit Tony had made for him that actually kept him safer and she calms down a little. 

  
Sunday at breakfast is when she finally finds out about the Vulture and what Peter had done. 

  
“You should have stepped in, he was telling you that this guy was a problem and you were ignoring him,” she screeches at Tony, who sinks sheepishly in his chair.

  
“I thought I was handling it, I called in the FBI and I did tell him to back the hell off, I even took the suit away and told him to focus on school so he would stay safe,” Tony tells her, eyes sliding over to Peter who looks guilty for only a minute.

  
“I found out who he was and I couldn’t just leave it,” he declares, hands waving in emphasis. “I mean, what was I supposed to do, I knew he was planning something, Happy wasn’t answering my calls and you didn’t seem to care so I took care of it, I did it for you because that was your plane I might point out,” he finishes hotly, arms crossed on his chest in defiance. 

  
“I know Pete, and I told you thank you, I just wish you hadn’t gotten yourself almost killed in the process, but that is what really changed my opinion of you,” Tony admits gently. “I knew you were good, you proved it in Germany, but I saw how much heart you had when you stopped Toomes.”

  
Peter nods, relaxing and feeling justified. 

  
“So when did…” May asks carefully, hand waving vaguely between the two of them. 

  
“He turned me down to join the Avengers, something I still respect,” Tony answers her, directing the second part to Peter who smiles quickly in acknowledgement. “But I still wanted to be connected to him, if he needed help or someone to talk to because this is kind of a wild life, I know from my own experience and we kept talking and it just… went from there,” Tony tries to explain without giving too much of the truth away. It was inevitable that the truth would come out though, he just thought he’d get more time. 

  
“Can I ask you guys a question then?” May starts, heading to the counter for more coffee before turning around to stare at them with narrowed eyes. “That day, when I… when I found out,” she stutters, swallowing as she remembers the texts she’d seen and embarrassment washes over Tony while Pete goes red. “You took off Peter, ran out but you were arguing with someone, Tony, loudly, what the hell were you two arguing about? I mean, you sounded really angry and from what I… saw…” she stops again, muttering something about wishing she hadn’t seen it to herself. “I mean, what the hell made you so angry Peter?” 

  
Pete takes a deep breath and shrugs, glancing at Tony a few times before shrugging again.

  
“I mean, it was nothing, just an argument, we got over it obviously,” he hurries out, covering for Tony who feels instantly guilty. Yes he knows he doesn’t actually have to be honest about the camera, but a weird part of him thinks and knows he should be, because he really wants to make this work, to get May to understand them, how they feel about each other and how he fell in love with Peter in the first place. So that they can stop sneaking onto a roof to be together to start with but also he strangely wants her support, and in a way, her blessing, because he knows Peter wants that too. 

  
“No, Pete, it’s fine, let’s be honest,” he decides and May turns towards him expectantly. “When Peter turned me down for joining the team, I was worried, I’ll be honest, I was worried because he had gotten hurt fighting Toomes, and without him being a part of the Avengers, I didn’t really know what he was up to. Yes, I could text him and I did, but I was worried that after how I had handled the whole Vulture thing, not really listening to him, like you said, that he would just hide stuff from me, try to just handle shit on his own and that scared me frankly,” he admits, turning towards Peter because it really did bear repeating for Peter’s sake as well, even though he does seem to have forgiven Tony about the camera. “So, I installed a small camera in his bedroom, just to keep an eye on him, know what he was up to if he was dealing with anything that maybe I should know about but he wasn’t telling me about.”

  
The room is dead silent for a moment as May’s eyes widen in horror.

  
“You did what?” She screeches. 

  
“Trust me I know, now, anyway, what an absolutely fucked up idea that was, but I’m generally full of ideas and not all of them are good and that was a really bad one, and I feel terrible about it, but I promise you I meant no harm, I wasn’t being a pervert, please believe me I wasn’t, I was just very worried about him and didn’t think it through, at all, clearly,” he explains, keeping eye contact with her so she would know he was telling the truth, but it’s clear she can’t get beyond her shock at this admission. 

  
“I’m gonna go ahead and assume you saw things that you shouldn’t have,” she snarls out and Peter goes red again. 

  
“Yes,” Tony admits. “And I should have said something or told Peter the truth but at that point, I was a coward and chickened out, because I knew how badly I had fucked up.” 

  
“Holy Christ,” she breathes out, taking her glasses off and running her hands down her face. “I’m assuming the day you started screaming at him is when you found out,” she directs towards Peter.

  
“Yeah, I found it, but I mean, I was pissed then, and mortified, for obvious reasons, but I’ve forgiven him because I know he meant well, he’s telling the truth that he only intended to keep me safe because I was still out doing Spiderman stuff, fighting crime and shit and I probably wouldn’t have told him about it if I found something huge because I was feeling like I could handle shit alone,” Peter tells her, shrugging once and glancing at Tony. “And I mean, it is sort of what brought us together, he got to know me that way and he was alone a lot at that time, after Steve and Bucky and everything had happened, breaking up with Pepper, and it made him reach out to me, so I’m glad in a way.”

  
May stares at him for a long moment with wide eyes, mouth moving slightly as she tries to come up with words. 

  
“You’re glad he was spying on you?” She finally asks him. 

  
“Ok, not necessarily glad for that,” Pete admits, face scrunching slightly. “But I’m glad that it made him start talking to me more and then we started hanging out and he reached out to someone, when he needed to.”

  
Tony processes this, Pete had never told him that but it makes sense now, how he had done what he could to befriend Tony in those early days. Yeah, it was idol worship as well, Peter had clearly been awed by Tony still at that time, but now thinking back, he had also been a friend, been there for Tony, tried to support him. 

  
“Please tell me you haven’t kept any footage or anything?” May asks Tony with disgust on her face and Tony shakes his head.

  
“Nope, all deleted, wiped clean, did it when Peter found out about the camera and I realized how despicable it was what I had done,” he tells her and she relaxes slightly. 

  
“Ok, I don’t actually know how to unpack all of that mentally, but thank you for being honest I guess,” she decides, picking her coffee up again before putting it back down, hands moving as though she doesn’t really know what to do with them and regret washes over Tony. Maybe he should have just let Peter lie about their argument. One glance at Peter’s face tells him that he was thinking the same thing. “Um, I’m gonna go grab a shower, I think,” she finally decides, as though she needs to clean herself of this conversation and Tony’s stomach tightens. But he did have a reason for being so honest, he really did, he just had to remember that.

  
The minute she is out of earshot, Peter is leaning towards him with a furious expression on his face.

  
“What the hell did you tell her about the camera for?” He demands in a harsh whisper, eyes wide and nostrils flared. 

  
“I’m being honest with her Peter, I have to be, I’ve been doing that all week,” Tony replies quietly and Peter shakes his head in disbelief.

  
“Why? What in hell is her knowing about the camera going to do? It’s just making her opinion of you worse Tony, not helping,” Peter replies tersely, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest again. Tony takes a second to enjoy how delightfully rumpled he is from sleep, despite his petulant expression. 

  
“Because Peter, when I tell her about how I feel about you, I want her to know it’s the truth then as well. I am being honest about everything so she knows that everything I tell her in the future is the truth as well,” Tony explains and Peter stares at him for a long moment before his expression starts to soften into one of understanding and he nods a few times slowly, finally truly recognizing Tony’s strategy. “It sucks to have to tell her shit that frankly I don’t really want her to know, because it’s embarrassing and shameful and makes me look like shit, but by telling her that stuff, why would I have a reason to lie about how much I love you? Or how I fell in love with you? It would make no sense.”

  
“Yeah, I get it, I just kinda wish we didn’t have to be quite so honest, so maybe don’t give her so many details yeah?” Pete asks, eyes imploring him and Tony nods.   
“I mean, there isn’t much else that is that bad to tell at this point,” Tony points out.

  
“Yeah, let’s maybe not get into discussing our sex life, or the motel,” Peter declares.

  
“Oh, yeah, no I never intended to get that in-depth about that stuff, I promise,” Tony replies evenly. “Though I suspect she already has her own suspicions about your prom night.”

  
Peter’s eyes immediately get shifty and Tony hums. 

  
“Yeah, I thought as much,” he points out and Peter huffs once.

  
“She doesn’t know everything, but I think she figured out I was with you, yeah,” he finally admits.

  
“Well, if that’s the case, she may not ask about it, we can only hope,” Tony decides. 

  
“Yup, but still, maybe a little less detail with your honesty, you know, when talking about that kind of stuff,” Peter asks, eyes worried that Tony would disagree. 

  
“Ok fine, but I still need to keep being honest.”

  
“Fine,” Peter agrees, visibly relaxing before standing up from his chair and coming around to Tony, deftly straddling his legs and sitting down in his lap and leaning in to kiss him. His lips and tongue do a pretty spectacular job of distracting Tony from the fact that May is just down the hall, but when the water shuts off they both jump slightly and quickly separate to start cleaning up the dishes and putting things away to appear busy. 

  
When she does come back to the kitchen, she says nothing, and neither Peter or Tony offer anything up either, they just separate to get cleaned up and dressed themselves before settling in for the rest of the day with Peter at the kitchen table working on studying while Tony sits with a hologram of a new idea he had in front of him. There was only so much Netflix a person could watch and he had asked Happy to bring him some stuff so he could keep busy at least coming up with ideas even if he wasn’t able to build them while in Queens. “Peter, I need to go get some stuff from the store, grab your coat,” May instructs just after noon, coming into the living room and grabbing her own coat and purse. 

  
“May, I need to study,” Peter protests, looking up from the array of books he has on the kitchen table. 

  
“Well, Tony can’t come with me because we can’t risk him being seen around me to protect your identity and I’m not leaving you two here alone, so I’m afraid you're gonna have to take a break and come help me get these few things,” she insists. “It’s stuff that can’t wait, laundry detergent and what not.”

  
Peter huffs angrily, tossing his pen down on the table in frustration. “May, you’re being ridiculous, we aren’t going to do anything, I have too much work to do,” he grumbles back and she straightens up, getting ready to fight back and Tony quickly tries to diffuse the situation. 

  
“Why don't we text what you need to Happy and he can pick it up, then you can stay here and Pete can keep working,” Tony offers. “I know he wouldn’t mind, especially not if he gets to stay for dinner.”

  
May considers it, her posture altering as she goes from angry to anticipatory. Tony knew she likely wouldn’t give up a chance to see Happy again and this way Peter could keep focus. He seemed to be particularly stressed out about his Spanish final and it seemed unfair that he should have his study time compromised because of Tony being there. 

  
“Ok fine, but I have to make the list specific, I’m pretty particular about my shampoo,” she finally decides, coming over to sit next to Tony on the couch while he puts the holograph tablet down on the table. She eyes the device curiously, not used to seeing something like that in her living room. 

  
“Ok, shoot,” Tony tells her when he’s got his phone up and ready, typing quickly as she lists each item before sending it and minutes later he gets an affirmation from Happy. Tony adds a quick note that May might appreciate some flowers as well, if Happy felt so inclined. 

  
With that decided, May seems to find herself at a loose end and ends up staying on the couch next to Tony, watching in amazement as his fingers nimbly move about the 3D image, shifting parts and adding more. She asks a lot of questions and Tony is happy to answer them but Peter is less thrilled and heads to the bedroom for some peace and quiet. 

  
When Happy arrives, Tony helps May put everything away and he can’t help but smile as she giggles and thanks Happy heartedly for the flowers while he loads the laundry detergent into the cupboard. He lets them continue to chat and flirt while he gets dinner ready and as predicted, Happy agrees to stay to eat with them. 

  
After dinner, Peter retreats back to his bedroom to carry on studying while the other three settle on the couch to watch the news and some old episodes of Law and Order. When it gets late, Happy heads out and then it’s just Tony and May on the couch. It’s quiet for a long time and Tony figures that she has had enough answers to her questions today, after the shocking admission she had received earlier but he’s wrong, once again. 

  
“When did you realize you were attracted to him, that way, did you not stop and realize that you shouldn’t be?” She asks quietly, face turning slightly to look at him though there isn’t any animosity there, not currently. 

  
Tony takes his time trying to come up with a response because he can hear Peter’s voice in his head yelling at him not to be too honest. Especially since the honest truth was that he had realized his attraction watching Peter jerk off in his bed. Not exactly something he wanted to admit to, no matter his current forthright policy. 

  
“I didn’t just realize it suddenly or anything, it happened over time, my falling in love with him, but… it just felt like I had found someone I could relate to in him I guess,” he replies and her expression immediately changes and he cuts her off before she can say what he knows she’s thinking. “What I mean by that is he is on my level intellectually, being able to have a conversation with someone who actually understands what you are saying is a blessing, but it’s more than that, we do relate more than you would think on a lot of different levels, loss and grief being one of them.”

“But how does that become romantic? How does a man at your age become attracted to a kid his age? That’s the part I don’t get,” she implores him, leaning forward slightly. This was the conversation Tony was prepping for all week, he knew it was coming. 

  
“I can honestly say, I don’t know, because if I was on the outside looking in, I’d think the same as you, trust me. But I do love him, it’s not just physical like you think. I love him, he is everything to me,” he declares forcefully, emphasizing his true emotions so she would realize that they were real. “He changed me and my life for the better and there is no one else for me, I know that because I’ve never felt this way before and I know it’s hard for you to understand and I don’t expect you to, not yet, but I promise I didn’t actually set out for this to happen. I’m not a predator or anything, I really meant to just be a mentor for him, maybe a friend but it just grew and before I knew it, I was head over heels for him,” Tony tries to explain, once again maintaining eye contact so she would know he was being honest with her. She processes, holding his gaze for a long moment as though she expects him to break but he doesn’t and she nods once, looking down at her hands in her lap. 

  
“I just feel like I’m failing him, I’m supposed to be taking care of him, protecting him and look at what’s happened,” she cries. “He got bit by a fucking radioactive spider and is in a relationship with a man three times his age, his parents would be horrified if they knew, saw what was happening.”

  
“May, none of this is a reflection on how you’ve taken care of him, raised him, he is a good man, a good person because of you,” Tony declares, trying to comfort her. “The spider is not your fault, it’s not his either, it was a complete freak accident but look what he’s done with that, what it made him into. He could have just as easily used his new abilities for nefarious purposes but he didn’t, he became the friendly neighborhood Spiderman, doing his best to protect people, stop crime and keep everyone safe. He saved trillions of lives, he’s beloved because of who he is, the persona of Spiderman is Pete, he’s just himself with a mask on and that’s down to you raising him to be this good person. As for the other part, also not your fault, but, and I know this is my own personal view based entirely on my own bias, it’s not a bad thing either.” He fully expects the side eye that comment would incur but he carries on anyway. “The age difference is big I know, but it’s the only thing that’s different between us. We both know how mature Peter is, way beyond his years because of all of his life experiences, which isn’t your fault. You’ve been a great parent to him, he adores you and you are the only family he has left.”

  
May sniffles quietly, wiping under her eyes quickly. “They would never approve of your relationship, I know Ben wouldn’t, so I don’t know how I possibly could,” she tells him, looking at him sideways and Tony gets the distinct impression that there is a part of her that has given in, that approves in some strange way but she still can’t quite wrap her head around it and she’s clearly being weighed down by guilt. 

  
“Only you can decide that, but remember that they haven’t been through the same experiences with Peter as you have, they haven’t been here as he’s grown into this man and yes I know, that’s not by their choice, but you have been the one at his side and you’ve made him into the wonderful man he is and you need to give yourself more credit for that,” Tony reminds her, gently rubbing her shoulder. 

  
“He blames himself for Ben’s death, doesn’t he?” She asks him, sniffling again and swiping under her nose. Tony takes his time answering, reaching for a tissue from the table and handing it to her. He’s not sure if he should tell her or not, the conversation he’d had with Peter about this subject had been very personal. But at the same time, maybe she should know, it’s something they need to work out for sure. 

  
“Yeah, he does, he thinks he should have done more to prevent it, to save him, since he had already been bitten at that point,” Tony finally tells her, glancing towards the bedrooms to make sure Peter couldn’t hear them. He feels guilty talking about it but he hopes it opens a line of communication between Peter and May about this subject, because it was clearly unresolved. “I think he thinks you blame him as well.”

  
“What?” She squawks out, sitting up abruptly, eyes wet underneath and she turns to stare at Tony and then down the hall herself. “Why in hell would I blame him? It wasn’t his fault.”

  
“No it wasn’t, I told him that, but he thinks that because Ben was out looking for him when it happened that it was because of him that it happened and that you think that as well. I hate telling you this, I have to admit, because I think he did tell me in confidence but it worries me that he's carrying this burden around,” Tony whispers, wanting to make it clear that he was only trying to help and she nods. 

  
“I know, and I guess you’re really only confirming what I was already worried about. I’m gonna have to talk to him about it, we can’t go on like this,” she decides, slumping forward again, elbows on her knees. She growls in frustration, hands running through her hair and Tony just sits and waits. “Look, I guess, I am glad you are there for him, because it does seem like he trusts you and even I can see that there is definitely a genuine relationship going on but if you are hoping that I’m going to be happy about it, then you can dream on, but I guess I also know there’s really nothing I can do, I can’t stop it, not now anyway and as much as I want to hate you, I can’t, because frankly I like you,” she decides.

  
“Thank you, I think,” he laughs quietly. “I know, and I realize this isn’t easy for you and you are just trying to protect him, but so am I, and I promise you I will never hurt him.”

  
“I know, I do know that, but I do wonder just what in hell your long-term plan is here, because I mean, I know that I could try to keep you apart, though that clearly didn’t work out the last time, but even if I did, the minute he turns 18 I know he’d go straight to you, and I really don’t want to risk my relationship with him trying to keep him away from you. But I mean, have you really considered the long-term here? You’re 48, he’s 16, you’re gonna be dead by the time he reaches your age? How is that fair to him?” She asks, staring at him with narrowed eyes and Tony nods, understanding what she was getting at.

  
“I know, and I’ve thought about it, but in the end, he knows as well and the decision is his if he wants to stick this out with me or not because he’s the one who will have to live with it in the end, not me. And trust me, if he decides he can’t, if he wants to end it to avoid dealing with that later, I’ll let him go, no pressure or anything.” 

  
She sniffles one more time, taking a deep breath before nodding. 

  
“Good, make sure he knows he has that out, because I’m not entirely sure he’s really thought it through, not based on what he’s said to me,” she requests and Tony nods, thinking that it was probably a conversation they should have, though the thought of Peter deciding to end things absolutely petrifies him. He knows that’s why he’s avoided talking about it before now. 

  
“Well, it’s getting late, I’m gonna head to bed, I’ll tell Peter he should be heading to bed as well,” she decides, standing up and heading down the hall before stopping and turning back to Tony. “Thank you, for being so honest with me all week, I know that it can’t have been easy for you but it has helped me a lot, in trying coming to terms with this,” she says gently before turning and walking away, not waiting for a response though Tony doesn’t really have much of one either. 

  
He didn’t have her blessing, but at least he had some acceptance, it was a step in the right direction. 


	27. Chapter 27

Peter brings Ned home the next afternoon so they can study together and while Ned was aware that Tony was staying with the Parkers and well, was aware of the whole Spiderman thing, that apparently didn’t help him prepare to meet Tony himself. 

  
“Hi… uh… Hi Mister… Mister Sir,” he stutters out as he comes into the apartment, big wide eyes landing on Tony as he sits on the couch, holograph forgotten in his hands as he processes his new title.

  
“Mister Sir, can’t say I’ve gotten that one before,” Tony quips with a stifled laugh, Peter standing behind Ned trying desperately to keep a straight face but his shaking shoulders bely him. “Um, Tony is fine, let’s just go with Tony, and you must be Ned,” he manages with more vocal control as he stands to come over to the young man to properly introduce himself, holding his hand out congenially. The response is much wider eyes coupled with an open mouth of awe and Peter frowning behind him.

  
“It took how long before I was allowed to call you Tony, and you just…” he grumbles out and Tony can’t help the snort that escapes. Truthfully, Peter calling him Mr. Stark had done things to his groin, which was why he let it go on as long as it did. He’s not about to say that in front of Ned, and also because Peter’s face right now is just too damn funny. 

  
“I feel like I know you already Ned,” Tony offers and Ned grins like a hyena while Peter rolls his eyes and shakes his head. Tony figures he will make it up to him later. 

  
“Um, hi Tony, it’s nice to finally meet you, like, really nice,” Ned finally manages and his hand creeps forward to shake Tony’s. It’s a little clammy from his nerves, Tony forgives him but surreptitiously wipes his own on his pants when Ned turns towards Peter to give him another shit eating grin. “It’s so cool that you get to work with him Peter, maybe we could, I don’t know, work on something together some time?” Ned asks hopefully and Peter and Tony share a quick look, both trying not to laugh because it’s safe to say that the vast majority of the time they’d spent together in the past few months had nothing to do with work. 

  
Schooling his face, Peter just nods at Ned and then drags him off towards the kitchen so they can use the table for their physics books. Their final was tomorrow and they had a bunch of practice questions they wanted to work on. Tony half listens in, going back to working on the holograph sketch he had of a repulser wing he had come up with. He can feel Ned’s eyes landing on him constantly but he ignores it and only really pays attention to them when it sounds like they are struggling on one of the questions. He leaves them for a while, waiting to see if they will figure it out on their own but when it’s clear they are going in the wrong direction he gets up and nonchalantly heads into the kitchen to get a bottle of water. He doesn’t want to necessarily give them answers or interrupt, but he figures maybe he can offer some hints. 

  
“Whatcha guys working on?” He asks with a grimace as he sounds like a parent while admiring how good Peter’s thighs look in his jeans. 

  
“This practice question, it doesn’t make any sense,” Peter grumbles, throwing his hands up in frustration and dropping his pencil on the table. 

  
Tony sidles over to the table, standing just close enough to Peter to feel his body heat without it looking awkward and he bends over to read the question and their attempts at solving it and sees the issue immediately. 

  
“Ok, I see where you were going with it, and why that would make sense, but maybe look at it from this angle,” Tony offers, picking up Peter’s pencil and adjusting their equation, erasing a few pieces while adding to another spot and he hears Pete gasp beside him as he sees it. 

  
“Oh my God, I didn’t even think of that, how would we even think of that?” He asks, his voice concerned, clearly he’s worried this sort of trick question will appear on the exam. 

  
Smiling gently at Peter, Tony pulls up a chair and goes over each segment of it, and he can see Peter absorbing it, understanding it, but it takes Ned a little longer. It makes Tony feel good to be able to help, because he knows how intelligent Peter is, and that it’s very rare for him to get stuck on something. He had an extremely analytical mind, he could mentally calculate, deconstruct and re-build almost any equation and it took next to nothing for him to learn new things. He’s a lot like Tony was when he was younger, but with a lot less money and opportunities because of his last name. 

  
By the time May gets home, they've worked their way through all of the test questions and gone over their notes. Ned takes the opportunity to ask Tony a gazillion questions and Tony tries to be patient answering them. He remembers when he first met Peter and how much of a chatter box he had been. 

  
They send Ned on his way after dinner and it’s a quiet evening as Peter does some final cramming and Tony and May watch American Idol on TV. Not exactly Tony’s cup of tea, but he was kind of getting used to this new domestic life he had with Peter and May. They felt like a little family unit, though he knows May doesn’t consider him family, at all. But it was nice, it was normal, it was calm and didn’t involve aliens or boarding school or his father aggressively tearing him down. 

  
Tony hates that he has a strange sense of impending doom because of it. 

  
He’d learned the hard way that when things got nice and calm like this, something shit was usually on the way. 

  
He wakes up to Peter poking him again, his eyes black in the dim light as he stares down at Tony, vaguely waving at the window and getting a nod in response. Tony grabs the blanket this time, carrying it up and taking it into their alcove and spreading it out before spreading Peter on his back on it, worshipping his way down the younger man’s body with his lips. He can tell Peter is full of nervous energy, even though Tony knows he’s going to ace every exam.

  
He decides not to rush it, to take his time and savor this moment with Peter, that doom still a rock in his belly but he does his best to ignore it as he kisses Peter, licking into his mouth with his tongue making him moan and press up into Tony in response. 

  
Tony’s casual pace is at a distinct odds to Peter’s more harried desperate one. He gets shoved and moved more than once as Peter tries to rip their clothes off, but Tony finds ways to calm him back down, fingers delicately tracing across Peter’s pale skin as his shirt comes off. His attention is reverent, and he can feel Peter’s dark eyes on him as he watches the goose flesh raise like a trail after each fingertip. It goes on long enough that Peter stills, his expression less arousal and more concern. 

  
“Tony, talk to me, what’s going on?” He asks, voice deep, gravelly.

  
Tony glances at him, finding it hard to keep his eyes on him, afraid of answers he knows he should be asking for, but he’s too cowardly to seek.

  
“Tony, don’t start hiding shit from me again, we’ve been over this,” Peter demands, referring to how the older man had hidden Thanos from him. 

  
“I’m not actually hiding anything ok, I’m not, it’s nothing really,” Tony replies, wincing, because he’s still lying, hiding and being a coward. 

  
Peter’s hands shove him back until he’s kneeling, the younger man sitting up as well and giving Tony a fierce look that makes it’s clear he’s not buying it. 

  
“You’ve been all honest and open with my Aunt for over a week but you aren’t giving me the same respect, how is that fair?” Peter points out, one brow up in emphasis and Tony sighs loudly.

  
He flops back on his butt, sitting cross legged on the blanket while adjusting his shirt, which was halfway off thanks to Peter’s anxious hands. Peter mimics the sitting position, leaning forward with concern on his face now, fingers worrying the fabric of his pants on his calves.

  
“I know, Pete, I know, but it’s kinda related to a conversation she and I had, last night actually, we finally really talked and some stuff got brought up that I’ve tried very hard to ignore, or at least not mention because what you decide, if you make a decision that I’m not ready to live with, that terrifies me,” Tony rambles out and Peter’s brows come together in confusion.

  
“Tony, the fuck are you talking about?” He asks ineloquently. “What the hell did you two talk about?”

  
“A lot of stuff, my feelings for you, how it started, you know, how I could fall for you while knowing that it was probably wrong, well, in the eyes of the law it is wrong, but I know for us it’s not,” Tony rambles again and he can see Peter getting impatient. “I’m 48 Pete, you’re 16. When you get to my age, there’s a pretty good chance I will have died of old age and… and I don’t really know how to handle that because in some ways, I almost feel like I’ll be abandoning you when you are only half way through your life, and I don’t want to saddle you with having to look after me or be stuck with me because you were so young when we got together…”

  
“Tony stop,” Peter cuts him off, shaking his head slightly, an ironic smile on his lips. “You don’t think I haven’t already thought about this? I know all of this Tony, and I know you would let me decide if it was worth it for me, if I wanted to take this journey with you, and the answer is yes, I would have told you a long time ago if I couldn’t.” Peter tilts his head slightly and gives Tony a kind look. “Tony, it’s worth it for me, I know that, and will it hurt to lose you? Yes, but I will be glad, grateful for the time we did have together, it will all be worth it for me, I know that and I’m sure, I’m certain this is what I want, so please stop worrying.”

  
Tony’s glad for the darkness, it shields the way his eyes get watery from the relief pouring through his body. The terror of this conversation had been heavy on his shoulders and he feels light now that it’s gone. 

  
He doesn’t have words to respond, isn’t really sure he trusts his voice, so instead he acts, surging forward to kiss Peter hard, claiming his mouth and slipping his hand into the soft dark curls on the back of his head. Peter almost falls backward from the force of it but laughs softly and lays down, pulling Tony with him, letting him settle between his open legs. 

  
Tony’s hands take on a life of their own, pressing down Peter’s ribs, feeling the way his body moves, the softness of his skin, the hardness of bone underneath, he memorizes every square inch before leaning back enough to divest both of them of their pants. Surging back forward, he almost forgets to get the condom on before coating himself with lube and lining himself up, starting to slide in slowly as Peter’s head goes back, a choked off moan coming from his white throat. Tony can’t help but run his tongue up that throat as he slides in further, tasting the salt of sweat on his skin, the scent of his body wash in his nose. When he’s fully seated he pulls Peter’s legs up, opening up him further and kisses him as he starts to thrust, hips rolling, rocking their bodies together and swallowing each of Peter’s cries and gasps. 

  
Peter clutches onto him, hands grabbing his back and shoulders, his hair and down to his ass, eyes screwed tightly shut as he is overwhelmed with the sensations. 

  
Tony picks up speed quickly, pumping hard into Peter, feeling every inch sliding, their sweat intermingling on their chests. He gets ahold of Peter’s hands, pinning them down above his shoulders as he starts pounding into him, the sounds coming from the younger man enough to make a porn star blush and he spills first, voice screaming into the night as he coats both of their stomachs, his dick never once being touched through it all. 

  
Tony follows him, just watching Peter’s face enough to push him over the edge, and his own voice carries into the night, sounding almost jubilant. 

  
He collapses on top of Peter after, releasing his hands and flopping his cheek onto the other man’s shoulder as he breathes hard. 

  
“I think it’s safe to say I’ll never need the little blue pills with you around,” he jokes into Peter’s collar bone, earning him a sharp laugh. 

  
“Damn right,” Peter replies seriously and they both start laughing. 

  
When he gets control, Tony pushes himself up onto his elbows to look down at his lover, the younger man’s hair is a mess, plastered across his forehead and getting into his eyes, lips shiny and dark and eyes blown. He’s as beautiful as always and he always will be. Peter looks up at him, smiling gently, knowing that Tony was being sentimental again, something that Tony only ever was with Peter and that Peter should never tell anyone about or face some serious consequences. His fingers trail down the side of Tony’s face, thumb brushing across his bottom lip before lacing into his hair and bringing him down for a long, languid kiss.

  
“You’re gonna do fine tomorrow, by the way,” Tony tells him when they finally separate, staring at him meaningfully. 

  
“Yeah, I hope so,” Peter replies, mouth pulling up in the corner, unsure. 

  
“Pete, trust me, you’re good, you’re better than good, you are insanely smart, please believe in yourself a little more, ok?” Tony implores him and Peter’s eyes come back to his, searching for answers and he nods after a moment. 

  
“Let’s um, let’s get cleaned up,” Peter replies, deflecting and Tony just shakes his head slightly but complies, sliding out and quickly sitting up. 

  
He pulls the condom off and discards it, feeling a little grossed out about the fact that off in the corner he keeps throwing them towards, there was a pile growing. He pities whoever finds that and considers bringing a garbage bag up the next time they come up here. For now though, he uses the wet wipes and cleans himself up and gets dressed alongside Peter and then they move their blanket out to where they can look at the sky properly, Tony leaning back against Peter’s chest again, feeling himself being lulled into sleep by the movement of his breathing. 

  
“What else did you and my Aunt talk about?” Peter asks after a while, sounding both concerned and curious. 

  
“Umm,” Tony hums, running it over again in his mind. “She’s just got a lot of worries still, about you and me, a lot of the same, and I mean, I get it, but she seems to think she’s failing as a parent to you by us being together, that your parents wouldn’t approve of us so she shouldn’t either,” Tony tells him honestly. There was no sense in hiding it from him. Then he remembers another part of his conversation with her and a thread of worry goes through him at telling Peter, but at the same time, he knows he should, it was important he know. “She doesn’t blame you for Ben’s death, you need to know that, and she knows you blame yourself, and that you think she blames you, but that isn’t true Peter, she doesn’t, trust me, she doesn’t.”

Peter immediately goes tense, body rigid behind Tony as his breathing picks up speed.

  
“You talked about that? I told you that in confidence,” he stutters out, voice going up a few octaves and Tony quickly sits up and turns around to be able to face him. 

  
“Pete, she already knew, she’d already figured it out, I only confirmed her suspicions because I think you two do need to talk about that,” he explains but he can still see a lot of hurt in Peter’s eyes and it breaks his heart. “Baby I’m so sorry, I’m trying to help, I was trying to help, I don't want you to keep living with that, neither does she,” he explains, hand on Peter’s cheek to try to comfort him.

  
Peter stares at him for a long moment, bottom lip quivering slightly before he averts his eyes, one tear escaping and he quickly wipes it away, pushing Tony’s hand away as well. 

  
“I could have stopped it, it is my fault,” he whispers in a broken voice. 

  
“No it isn’t, Peter, you couldn’t have…” Tony starts.

  
“I COULD HAVE STOPPED IT!” Peter cuts him off, yelling, sitting up slightly himself and getting into Tony’s face. “I had the ability, the power to stop it, and I didn’t, I wasn’t good enough.”

  
Not backing down, Tony gently places his hands on either side of Peter’s face, holding him still and forcing him to keep eye contact. 

  
“You couldn’t have stopped it, there was nothing you could do, it isn’t your fault and it never will be,” Tony tells him firmly and Peter’s lips continue to quiver. Tony can tell he still wants to fight him on it, that he doesn’t believe it but that may take time. “I think you need to talk to her about it and I’m so sorry for upsetting you like this, I shouldn’t have said anything, but she knew already Pete, she knew.”

  
Peter huffs angrily, averting his eyes and sniffling loudly before nodding once, looking down at the ground. 

  
“Ok, so you talked about that and how you feel about me, but clearly she’s still against us, she doesn’t like it and isn’t gonna be ok with it,” he points out, changing the subject, kind of like he had the last time they had discussed Ben. Tony doesn’t push it though, just gently runs a thumb under Peter’s eye to clear away the wetness.

Peter responds by grabbing him and spinning him, making him turn around and lean back against his chest again, arms a little tight around him but Tony decides not to fight him. 

  
“Um yeah, like I said, she seems to think she’s failing you, I tried to explain that that isn’t true, but I think she just sees my opinion as being biased, which in fairness, it is,” Tony explains. “The good news is she likes me as a person, she just hates me being with you.”

  
Peter snorts quietly, arms loosening slightly. 

  
“Well that’s progress I guess,” he grumbles out, sniffling again. 

  
“Yup, better than nothing,” Tony agrees. 

“I’ll talk to her,” Peter promises and they both go quiet. 

  
Tony’s glad they did talk, it needed to be done and he’s relieved in so many ways. 

  
If only that pesky feeling of doom wasn’t still there he might finally relax. 


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so very good chance this will go beyond 30 chapters, I was making a general guesstimate when I put that, so those who are sad because they think it's ending soon, I've got good news for you! I have no idea how many chapters it's gonna be honestly.

Peter nails the exam. He doesn’t actually say that when he gets home the next day, in fact he still seems unsure but Tony can see the twinkle in his eye that he has some confidence and that’s enough for him. He only has two more to go and then he’s done for the year and he’s clearly ready for that. What a year it had been and that had nothing to do with school, but safe to say he was looking forward to some time off in the summer. 

  
They risk a trip up to the roof for the second night in a row to celebrate Peter’s success and to blow off steam since he’d been so stressed out about this particular exam. 

  
Tony decides to make it all about Peter, to really make him feel special. He starts by slowly stripping him, pressing his lips and tongue across every square inch of exposed skin as it appears, paying particular attention to his nipples and to the creases between his thighs and body. Peter moans quietly periodically, breathing hard and writhing when Tony brushes his beard across a particularly sensitive area like the inside of his thighs or his neck. He then takes his time sucking him, working his way down Peter’s impressive dick slowly, tongue pressing and brushing and teasing the bundle of nerves under the head until Peter is a mess above him, crying out and begging Tony for release, to fuck him, to just give him relief. He waits until Peter is at the absolute edge, back arching off of the blanket before he quickly crawls up his body, pushes his own pants down far enough and slides the condom and lube on and lines himself up, pushing in with one long thrust. Peter opens his legs right up to him, a choked off growl coming from his throat from being impaled but it only takes a few quick rough pumps from Tony’s hips to make him come, voice echoing off of the brick walls of their little enclosure and Tony sinks his teeth into Peter’s shoulder as he fills the condom, though he’s not sure why he felt the need to do it. To mark his territory he guesses. Either way, Peter seems to find it hot, smirking at Tony when he finally comes up for air, eyebrows flicking up and the kiss he gifts Tony with is downright filthy. He’s come a long way from the innocent, virginal guy Tony met a few months ago, that’s for sure. 

  
They clean up and dress quickly and then Tony pulls out the bag he had stuffed in his pocket to clean up with.

  
“The hell are you doing?” Peter asks him incredulously when Tony starts picking up the wet wipes and condom wrapper.

  
“Pete, we really shouldn’t be leaving this stuff up here, first it’s gross, some maintenance guy is gonna find this and that’s kinda uncool and secondly, it’s not really great for the environment,” Tony explains, using a fresh wet wipe to start scooting previous discarded items into the bag, mouth turned down in disgust, even though it was their stuff, their bodily fluids, things that didn’t bother him in the moment, but after the fact, were definitely gross. 

  
There’s a long moment of silence behind him before Peter starts laughing.

  
“Tony, no one comes up here except me, trust me, I’ve had years to test it out. That air conditioning unit hasn’t worked for years,” he giggles out and Tony finishes cleaning up before turning and giving Peter a dirty look. “And since when did you give a shit about the environment?”

  
“I have for a long time, I’m the one who built the arc reactor, I used it to power an entire building on clean energy,” Tony points out hotly, tying the bag closed and dropping it in the corner to deal with later, because he hadn’t actually thought about what he was going to do with it after the fact. It wasn’t like he could just take it down and put it in the kitchen garbage, May would see it. 

  
“Ok, ok, fair enough,” Peter relents, holding his hands up in mock surrender before laughing more and shaking his head. “You kill me.”

  
“Shut up,” Tony retorts, reaching down and roughly picking the blanket up, almost upending Pete who wasn’t watching since he was putting his t-shirt back on.

  
“Hey, hey, chill, I mean it in a good way,” Peter says gently, following Tony out of the alcove, helping him arrange the blanket on the ground in their usual spot. 

  
Peter plops down first, patting the spot between his legs again and Tony decides to pretend to still be annoyed, taking his time to sit down before snuggling back against Peter’s chest and sighing deeply. 

  
“You can’t stay mad at me,” Peter points out matter-of-factly.

  
“No, I can’t,” Tony agrees, because it’s true. 

  
He settles in, relaxing to the feeling of Peter’s breathing, his heart beating and his nose nuzzling the hair above his ear. This was his favorite time, after the sex of course, because it was just so comforting, so soothing and so nice to be wrapped up in Peter’s arms and legs, feeling loved. 

  
“It’s really clear out tonight,” Peter muses a while later, body twitching as he looks around at the sky. “Do you know a lot about astronomy?”

  
“Mmm, no, not really,” Tony replies slowly, yawning. “I was more interested in engineering, physics, making things with my hands than looking up at the sky, though Thor did tell me about his nine realms and all of that.”

  
“Yeah, so Asgard was the protector of these nine realms? Where are they and how does that work now that there’s no Asgard?” Peter asks, sounding far more awake than Tony. 

  
Thinking it might be easier to show him than try to explain it, Tony pulls out his phone and flips it into holograph mode, pulling up the map he’d made based on what Thor explained one time because he was bored. 

  
“So this is basically what he told me, this is earth right here, though they call us Midgard, and this is Jotunheim where something fun called the frost giants live, I think Loki is one of them and that is Alfheim where apparently there are elves,” Tony explains, pointing to each, the spiral groupings all connected by a cosmic nexus orbiting earth with Asgard at the head. “I don’t really know what happens now, he hasn’t said, but what’s left of Asgard has taken over a small fishing town in Norway, whether or not the locals like it.”

  
“HEY!” 

  
They both jump about three feet, startled and Tony’s phone falls to the blanket as he clutches his chest, heart pounding painfully from fright. They both turn and stare at May standing just at the top of the fire escape, glaring at the two of them furiously, hair a messy knot on the top of her head.

  
“What the hell is going on up here?” She demands, crawling over the edge of the roof and storming towards them. “Have you two been sneaking up here this entire time?”

  
“May, for fuck’s sake, he had shrapnel in his heart, it’s been damaged, you can’t just scare the shit out of him like that,” Peter retorts, hand pressing over Tony’s on his chest, the other rubbing his shoulder but Tony keeps staring at her, terrified that she was about to kick him out and any progress he’d made with her was ruined. “Tony, are you ok?” Peter asks him, sounding concerned.

  
“Yeah, yeah, fine,” Tony replies, glancing back at Peter. “I’m fine, my heart is ok, just startled the hell out of me.”

  
May reaches the edge of their blanket, glaring down at them with her hands on her hips. She’s wearing a pair of flannel pajamas with what appears to be flamingos on them and Tony wonders if they are new, he’s never seen her wear them before. 

  
“We’re just looking at the stars and talking May, chill out,” Peter tells her, annoyance in his voice as he relaxes back against the wall again. 

  
“I’m not an idiot Peter, I know exactly what you two are doing up here,” she retorts, though she sounds strangely resigned. 

  
“No, honestly, we were literally just looking at the stars, Tony was showing me Thor’s nine realms and where they are,” Peter replies, hand flicking towards the sky and then Tony’s phone on the blanket. “Sit down and we will show you,” he adds. 

  
May hesitates, and Tony can see that she appreciates Peter including her and he wonders if she has felt shut out, despite them all living together because he and Peter do tend to focus on each other quite a lot. 

  
It takes her a minute to decide, with her glancing at the sky a few times as though it will give her answers before she flicks her hands towards them. 

  
“Get out of my nephew’s crotch,” she directs towards Tony and he freezes for a second, trying very hard not to laugh but quickly complies, sliding forward so Peter can get out from behind him. 

  
“May!” Peter squawks at her comment. “A little late now anyway,” he adds in a mumble after as he moves to sit beside Tony on one side while May sits down on his other side. She stops for a second and stares at Peter in horror for a moment, having heard his comment before shaking her head.

  
“Dear God I do not need to hear that,” she declares, closing her eyes and shaking her head, but still sitting down. 

  
Tony isn’t sure what to make of this. She clearly still wasn’t happy with them, but that was the first most direct comment Peter had made about them having sex and she seemed to be choosing to ignore it or at least pretend it wasn’t happening. Maybe not all hope was lost, she just didn’t want details. Tony could work with that. 

  
Picking up his phone again as a distraction, Tony quickly pulls up the holographic map again, explaining each of the realms to May like he had to Peter, pointing them out as he went. 

  
“So how in hell did Thor become the one watching over all of these places and aren’t the Frost Giants his enemies?” She asks, all anger forgotten as she became fascinated by this information. 

  
“Yeah, according to him they were shit heads who kept trying to overthrow Asgard and take power, but they never succeeded, and Loki is actually one of them, but he was raised on Asgard thinking he was Thor’s brother for most of his life, when he found out the truth, that’s when he went a little dark side and got caught up with Thanos and attacked New York that first time,” Tony explains, hoping he’s remembering everything Thor and Bruce told him correctly. 

  
“And Loki is dead now right?” Peter asks.

  
“Yeah, Thanos killed him to get the power stone, its done a number on Thor because no matter what, he still saw Loki as his brother and cared about him,” Tony says sadly. Though he didn’t particularly like or care about Loki, the whole Thanos thing had given him a new perspective and he felt for Thor. 

  
“Oh, that’s awful,” May says quietly. “Has he gone back to Asgard?”

  
“Asgard is gone, actually, it was destroyed by something called Ragnarok, I don’t know all of the details, but the survivors from Asgard now live in Norway, in a small fishing town,” Tony explains.

  
May turns and stares at him in a way that was not unlike how Peter tended to do and Tony would swear they were blood related in that moment and has to fight not to laugh. 

  
“What? So Asgard is here now? Is he still Lord of these realms or whatever?” She asks, confused. 

  
“Well yes, basically Asgard is here now, but this is what they call Midgard, we were already a part of the 9 realms, the centre of it actually, so I guess it works for them to stay here, but I have no idea what role Thor has to be honest, haven’t had much of a chance to talk to him since Sokovia,” Tony shrugs. 

  
“Huh,” May grunts, turning slowly to stare at the sky again. “Did Thor know about Thanos?”

  
“Not until he was trying to kill him no, he had no more real warning than we did but he sent Bruce here to tell us,” Tony replies. “Titan isn’t a part of the 9 realms I don’t think, so maybe that’s why he didn’t know, I don’t know.”

  
“Huh,” May grunts again. “Well, pass on my condolences to Thor when you talk to him next, it’s hard to lose family.”

  
“Yeah, we will, Loki was all he had left, I know he’s taking it hard, but he has the rest of the team, hopefully he knows that,” Tony says gently, giving her a quick smile. 

  
“Yeah, I know what it’s like to lose almost everyone,” she says sadly, looking at Peter. “You’re all I have left for family, it’s why I want us to stick together.”

  
“I’m not going anywhere,” Peter assures her and Tony actually feels relief at hearing that. “We have each other, all three of us, I consider both of you family.”

  
Tony waits for May to tense at that, to balk that Tony wasn’t a part of their family, but she says nothing though he can see her eyes narrow. 

  
“When I lost my parents, I was alone, really alone, and I did everything I could to fill that void and went about it all wrong, I know that now,” Tony says softly, remembering how ridiculous he had been trying to fill the space in his life with one night stands, cars, casual acquaintances who only wanted to know him for his money or connections. How he had sought fame, reveled in it, was so cavalier about what the company he helmed did to make him those billions. He had tried to fix that, to find people who meant more to him, who saw him for who he really was as a person, warts and all and thought he had found it in Pepper but truly hadn’t found it until he met Peter. “I made a lot of mistakes, but meeting you Pete, that was the first time I felt like I had someone in my life who was there for me and with me, who didn’t want something from me and accepted me for who I was but also made me a better person. And I consider you family as well, and by extension, you May,” Tony turns to her, feeling weirdly sentimental but knowing that this was just another part of his honesty policy. “I know you probably don’t feel the same and that’s ok, but I think of you two as part of my family. And, I might point out, since you are now honorary members of the team, the Avengers are your wacky extended family in a way, sorry about that.”

  
Peter snorts a laugh beside him. 

  
“Yeah Thor is definitely the drunk uncle in that scenario,” he quips and Tony laughs. 

  
“Yeah, they are a motley crew and Christ knows we’ve had our issues over the years, but I’ve realized recently how much they matter to me, more than I had thought.”

  
May stays quiet beside them, looking up at the stars again though clearly she’s deep in thought. 

  
“We should get to bed, I’ve got an early start and you have school tomorrow,” she says finally, getting up quickly and they quietly comply, picking up the blanket and following her to the edge.

  
Tony can see that Peter is tense that he was hoping for more from her, but Tony knows when it’s best not to push and this was one of those moments. Instead he just holds the blanket while Peter helps May over the edge and then Tony before hopping over himself and the three of them clamber down. It’s weirdly a relief not to have to try to be so quiet, though he doesn’t want to wake the neighbors but all that tiptoeing was hell on his feet. 

  
They get through the window one at a time and May nudges Peter ahead of her out of the room before she pulls the door closed behind her, looking at Tony with an appraising expression as she goes. He stands waiting under her scrutiny until she’s gone before finally releasing the breath he’d been holding. He carefully folds the blanket and takes his shoes off, getting into bed. He stares at the ceiling for a long time, worried about what May was thinking, wanting to know but almost not wanting to at the same time, in case it was bad and he was going to be told to pack and get out tomorrow morning. When he finally falls asleep he has a wonderfully vivid nightmare about Frost Giants and finding himself painfully alone in some spaceship somewhere. He wakes up with a jolt and doesn’t sleep for the rest of the night. 


	29. Chapter 29

The next morning Peter leaves early to get some study time in at the library before class with his friend MJ and it leaves a very quiet and tense apartment for Tony and May to inhabit. 

  
Tony, feeling that pit of doom just a little more insistently, goes about trying to make himself feel indispensable. Making coffee, doing the dishes and even making her some toast for breakfast, but the inevitable still comes, as somehow, he knew it would.

  
“So Tony, how long were you planning to stay here because you do seem to be feeling a lot better with your injuries and that was why you were staying here,” May starts, sipping her coffee and trying to look nonchalant but it’s clear she’s tense. “And besides, the longer you are here, the more we are risking Peter’s identity being exposed.”

  
“Um…” Tony starts ineloquently. He’s not sure how to answer because frankly, he hadn’t planned on leaving. He was like a vole, he’d burrowed in, hoping that he was under cover enough to no longer be that noticeable. But apparently he’d failed. “I don’t really know, I mean, I’m happy to help out as I have been.”

  
“Yeah, I do appreciate how you’ve been trying to help out, how you have been around to buy us TV’s and couches and I honestly do appreciate how much you’ve opened up to me this week, but that whole happy families thing? I’m having a hard time with that,” she tells him tersely. “Especially now that I know you’ve been sneaking around behind my back, despite what I said, the rules I laid down and how much you know I disapprove of your relationship, you two have still been going behind my back, do you not see how disrespectful that is to me? Of my feelings and my authority as his guardian?”

She’s full on angry now and Tony’s shoulders drop in defeat. He’d thought he’d managed to diffuse things last night but evidently he’d only deferred this conversation and she’d clearly decided to have it without Peter there because she knew she’d get a ton of pushback from him. He’d argue and fight about how Tony couldn’t leave and come up with a hundred different reasons why and if that didn’t work, he’d likely start issuing threats. Tony got the sense that Peter had made it clear that should she get in the way too much in their relationship, he would be gone from her life permanently the minute he turned 18. Tony wasn’t happy that Peter was giving ultimatums, it certainly was not something he wanted happening on his account and he’d done his best to try to not ruin the relationship between May and Peter because they were family and no matter how many proclamations Tony made about the whole team being a family and how they had each other’s backs, the Parkers were a real family. You didn’t just give that up because you didn’t get your own way. 

  
But, because of those ultimatums, May was now having to use a new tactic to get the problem out of the way. She needed Tony to agree to it, hell, to even have it look like it was his idea so that Peter had no recourse to complain or fight back or make threats. That was what she was doing now, dropping enough hints but not outright telling him to get out. He believes her when she says she appreciates his honesty and what he’s been doing, but in the end it was clearly never going to make any difference. Despite Tony’s hopes and dreams, which were farfetched he already knew, they were never going to get her blessing or her approval. He gets it, she just wants to protect her nephew, the one she swore to take care of and keep safe to his parents all those years ago when he was born. 

  
Looking down at the mug in his hands, covered in soapy water Tony sighs quietly. There was really no point in trying to fight her on this, it was going to keep coming up and things were just going to go downhill. Peter was almost 17, they were already willing to hold on until then and at least maybe they could still talk, unlike the last time. He hates it though. 

  
“He won’t be happy, he wants me here,” Tony points out, a last ditch effort as he rinses the mug and puts it on the drying rack, wiping his hands on the towel. 

  
“I know he does, but we both know it’s not a long-term situation and if you decide to go, then he will have to accept it,” she replies, standing up and reaching for her bag to head to work. 

  
“It won’t work, he will still blame you because he knows I don’t want to leave him, our relationship is a lot more solid than you think and we talk, he’s fully aware of your feelings and he will know this was your idea, and I don’t want to lie to him,” he points out, starting to feel annoyed. Sure he could go, make do with just talking to Peter on the phone until he turns 17, but what then? She would still have to give consent herself for the relationship even if Peter can legally consent to them having sex. If Thanos had taught him one thing, life was fleeting and considering the line of work Tony and Peter were in, the risks were sky high and either one of them could end up on the wrong end of a situation at any time. They needed to preserve and hold on to whatever time they had, cherish it. 

  
“Then you need to make him…” she starts.

  
“It won’t work,” Tony cuts her off loudly. “I’ve been honest with you all week and I’ll keep doing that now, he and I aren’t going to just end because we aren’t in the same place, it didn’t work the last time and you know that, I know you do. This isn’t just physical, it’s not just a fleeting thing, we are solid and I’m sorry that you hate this, I know you do and like I’ve already told you, I get it, I honest to God do get it, but I’m not sure what else I can do to prove to you that this isn’t just something perverted, that our relationship is actually real, mutual and balanced, that I love him.” He turns and stares at her furious face, trying to calm his own nerves because he wants to yell and scream but she doesn’t deserve that and it won’t do any good right now either. “May, I am Iron Man, he is Spiderman, we risk our lives every time we put our suits on and go out there, that’s the deal and we both accept that. I know you aren’t happy about that either, but there is nothing you can do about it and it’s not your fault or some personal failing on your part. He’s a hero, a real live superhero, and with that, comes risk. He and I both understand that, and we both know that because of this we need to make the most out of each day. If Thanos and that whole situation taught me anything, it’s that happiness and life, aren’t something we should be taking for granted.” Taking another deep breath, he risks stepping towards her, further calming his voice though he has to admit he’s a little concerned she’s about to slap him silly. “If you want me gone from here, I will go, but you need to realize he’s going to know it’s not my idea, and he’s not going to take it well and like I said, I’m not lying to him, I refuse to disrespect him and frankly don’t see why I should lie to him for you. I’m not going to make any ultimatums or bargains because that’s not fair, though I suspect he’s been doing that to you,” he hedges and the way her eyes go down answers his question. “I’m sorry, I didn’t intend for any of this to happen, to fall in love with him, but I did and I’m not going to give him up and I know he’s not going to give me up either. But I absolutely have never wanted to come between you two.”

  
“But you have,” she retorts sharply, eyes brimming with unshed tears. 

  
It makes Tony feel ashamed and he realizes that maybe him leaving for a few days at least will help them get the chance to talk, because they clearly have a lot to talk about and maybe Peter can come to some agreement with her. 

  
“Look, I’ll be gone by tonight, I’ll tell him to talk to you, so you two can hopefully work things out, but I’m not out of his life, I never will be,” he decides. 

  
Nodding, she quickly wipes under her eyes and shoulders her bag and leaves and Tony flops down in a chair defeated. He decides he will wait and talk to Peter before he leaves because it’s not like he wants to go and leaving without speaking to Peter in person would be incredibly disrespectful. 

_T: What time you home tonight?_

_P: Probably around 7, meeting up with the decathlon team for one more time before we break for summer to talk about the trip to Europe in August, why?_

_T: That’s fine, will tell you when you get home_

He doesn’t want to distract Peter when he needs to be focusing at school, so figures it’s a conversation that can wait and May wasn’t due back home until 6 herself, she would just have to live with him there for a little longer. 

  
In the meantime he goes around collecting his stuff, washing a few things before packing them and putting his bag in the front hall by the door. When he’s finished he cleans up around the apartment, washing the blanket he and Pete had been using on the roof since it was starting to look a little dingy from the asphalt before putting clean sheets on the bed and tidying up his room. He opens windows throughout the apartment as he goes, letting the warm clean air in to freshen the place. 

  
It’s late afternoon by the time he’s done and he starts thinking about what to do for dinner. He’d had Happy bring some groceries by the other day and he pulls out some pasta and a jar of sauce, figuring he can’t fuck that up too badly. Even if he wasn’t staying for dinner, Peter and May would still need to eat. 

  
He’s pulling a pot out and starting to fill it with water when he hears May’s car outside. A quick glance at the clock and the darkening sky outside confirms that it’s just past 6 and a wave of sadness and panic runs down his spine. Pete would be home soon and Tony was not looking forward to the conversation or leaving him. The thought of being separated brought back memories of the last time when he’d gone so many weeks without even hearing Peter’s voice and how much of a nightmare it had been. 

  
He’s starting to consider their original escape plan again when he hears a shriek downstairs and the sound of scuffling. He pauses for a second, unsure he had even heard it or had imagined it when it happens again, longer this time, a woman yelling at someone in a panicked voice, one that was very much just like May’s and Tony is moving immediately, barreling out the door and down the stairs despite not having shoes on and the fact that he wasn’t supposed to be seen here.

  
He gets out the front door of the building and starts looking around hurriedly, seeing no one. He rushes over to where May parks her car and hears some muffled sounds down the alley behind the building and runs that way where he finds May on the ground, fighting with a mugger who is trying to get her purse away from her with brute force, kicking and punching her in a vicious way. Tony’s first instinct is to tap the reactor but nothing happens and he realizes he never fixed the suit after Thanos tore it to shreds, he hadn’t been to his lab to do so. He doesn’t have his watch with the built in repulser either. He’s completely unarmed for the first time in a long time. 

  
Scanning the ground he spots a piece of two by four, broken off from a pallet and he hurries over and grabs it before launching himself towards the attacker, swinging the board towards his head but the guy moves at the last second, taking a glancing blow off of his shoulder. The guy grunts in pain and whirls around to go after Tony, swinging at him several times, knocking Tony off balance and a spear of pain goes through his stab wound as he tries to lift the two by four again, swinging it at whatever he can hit as many times as he can. The guy deflects most of the blows, backing Tony out of the alley, but thankfully away from May, who lies in a heap on the ground. 

  
Tony keeps swinging with the board, only managing to connect with the guys nose once before his attacker gets ahold of the board and yanks it out of Tony’s hands, sending him sprawling backwards and the pain in his abdomen gets worse. He still had some stitches in and while he had been mostly fine, even with what he was up to with Peter, this kind of physical activity wasn’t good and he suspects he’s ripped the stitches open. A warm wetness soaking the front of his shirt confirms that a moment later.

  
The guy storms towards him, staring down at him and startling in shock when he realizes it’s Tony Stark on the ground before he smirks and starts trying to kick him. Pulling himself into a ball to protect his middle, Tony tries to get up a few times, crawling a few feet when he can’t stand and he makes it over to a public garbage can, knocking it over. 

  
The guy continues to follow, kicking and punching Tony wherever he can, still smirking and clearly feeling more than just a little proud of his ability to beat up Iron Man. Tony scrounges as best he can in the fallen debris while trying to deflect hits and his hand lands on the metal lid off the can, a hole in the centre that he sticks his hand in to get a grip on it before swinging it up as hard as he can, connecting firmly with the side of the guy’s head. 

  
The attacker staggers to the side, clearly affected by the blow and Tony seizes the chance, kicking the guys knees to get him to fall before sitting up and hitting him on the head again with the lid and once more for emphasis, until he’s sure the attacker is unconscious. 

  
Breathing hard, he drops the lid behind himself so the guy can’t sit up and grab it himself and then he sits clutching his abdomen for a moment before he remembers May and he starts struggling to stand up, hobbling in bare feet back to the alley where he finds her, only partially conscious. He searches her purse for her phone but it’s been smashed in the struggle and he left his upstairs, a climb he knows he’s not going to be making right now. Then he spots her car keys on the ground and quickly scoops them up before working on getting her upright, at least enough to get her to the car despite his own injuries.

  
“May… come on May, I need you to work with me here, help me help you to the car, I gotta get you to the hospital,” Tony grunts out as he gets her sitting up, shaking her slightly and she comes around a little, blinking up at him in surprise, as though she doesn’t recognize him for a moment before she seems to figure it out and nods once, reaching for him and trying to get her legs under herself. 

  
Before they start the hobble to the car, he scoops up her purse, and then they start a slow shuffle over to her old Volvo. He gets her into the front seat rather inelegantly by plopping her in there and then lifting her legs in before closing the door and circling the car to the driver’s side. His vision starts to get a little blurry and he can feel himself getting faint and has to use the car as a support the entire way, but he gets there, and plops into the driver’s seat himself. 

  
It takes a few tries to get the car started, as it always did, but when it roars to life, it’s more than a little relieving. He drives carefully, knowing he was in no condition to even be doing it, but thankfully the hospital May works at isn’t far and he figures that was the best place to take her and maybe one of them would let him use their phone to get in touch with Peter. 

  
He doesn’t bother finding a parking spot, pulling the Volvo up behind an idling ambulance in front of the emergency doors, the two medics looking at him curiously before they seem to realize that there is a lot of blood on the two occupants of the vehicle. 

  
Tony pushes himself out of the car, motioning them towards May.

  
“Guy tried to mug her, I got him off but he beat her up pretty bad, she works here,” he tells them as he hobbles around the car, the warm wetness now going down the front of his pants as the blood seeps down. “Can I borrow one of your phones, I need to call her nephew, tell him what happened,” he asks over the increasing volume of voices coming towards him, a stretcher being wheeled out the door, then a second one and he stares at it curiously before hands land on him and start trying to nudge him onto it. 

  
“Oh I’m fine, just look after her,” he tells them as he basically falls backwards onto the bed, the dizziness making it hard to keep his eyes open.

  
“What’s your name? Were you stabbed?” A kindly young doctor asks him and Tony nods.

  
“Yup, just about two weeks ago, guess it got reopened,” Tony replies, earning him a strange expression from the doctor who lifts his shirt and notes the stitches. 

  
“What were you stabbed with? By who?” The doctor asks and Tony realizes this guy doesn’t recognize him, has no idea and for some reason he finds this funny. He feels drunk from the blood loss, but it’s not that uncomfortable. 

  
“Well, it was my knife, blade really, it’s kind of a long story,” he replies easily, closing his eyes as the bright lights of the emergency room pierce his eyes. 

  
More doctors and nurses hurry into the space as he’s led into a bay and when he opens his eyes he can see the exact moment one of them does recognize him, a young woman, who stops dead in her tracks as her eyes widen. 

  
“Sir, can you tell me your name? When did you sustain this injury again? Where did you have it treated?” The doctor asks him, quickly using scissors to remove his shirt completely and Tony laughs again.

  
“She knows who I am,” he replies, vaguely waving towards the woman.

  
This throws the doctor for a moment, who glances at the woman and then back to Tony and then back to her again.

  
“Nurse? You know this man?” He demands, clearly assuming something nefarious like they had a one-night stand last night, which a few years ago, could have been a possibility, but not this time.

  
“That’s Tony Stark,” she replies quietly, still not moving and the room goes still for a long moment before the others in the room step forward to really look at his face. Tony responds by trying to smile at them, despite his swollen split lip and he gives them an awkward wave.

  
“Right in one,” he quips and their mouths drop open. “I got stabbed by Thanos, about two weeks ago, was healing just fine until this douchebag decided to attack my friend, I probably should have thought about arming myself before attacking him, but here we are.”

  
“Ohhhhh shit,” the doctor mumbles out before shaking his head once to clear it and refocusing, clearly mentally reminding himself that this was his patient and he needed to see about treating him rather than staring at him. 

  
“You know May Parker?” The nurse asks, moving slightly closer. 

  
“Uh, yeah,” Tony says slowly, realizing he had to be careful now. No one was even supposed to know he was in the US, let alone staying with May and Peter and it’s not like anyone really knew that he was acquainted with them. Before he can say anything or lie the nurse seems to have an epiphany and shakes her head, laughing once.

  
“Right, of course you do, you gave Peter an internship at Stark Industries, you’ve been mentoring him,” she breathes out, and Tony wonders what in hell she thought was going on because there’s no way in hell she’d guess at his relationship with Peter and he seriously doubts May would have told anyone for obvious reasons. 

  
“Uh, yeah, we stayed in contact as friends, I was there to talk to Peter about working at SI over the summer,” he quickly lies, hoping it sounds plausible and she nods, buying it while getting back to work. 

  
Distraction with the nurse over, Tony finally really starts to feel the pain in his body as they poke and prod him, an order for an immediate MRI being placed while his pants are deftly removed before Tony can even balk. 

  
“Look, can someone call Peter and tell him what happened please? He’s at school meeting with his decathlon team,” Tony asks, groaning from the pain a second later and he hears an order for something to relieve it get placed, the nurse appearing at his side with the needle a moment later. “Someone should probably call the cops too, if they aren’t already there, I left the guy unconscious on the sidewalk out front of the building.”

  
It’s the last thing he’s able to say before whatever they gave him makes him feel like he’s underwater and then he’s out. 


	30. Chapter 30

“Tony? Tony can you hear me?”

  
Tony groans softly, the sound loud in his ear as he starts to resurface from what felt like a very dark dream. 

  
“Tony? Come on Tony, wake up,” Peter insists, hand on Tony’s shoulder and Tony tries to swat it away but his limbs feel incredibly heavy.

  
“Pete, stop, go back to sleep,” he slurs out, trying to reach for the younger man to pull him in for a cuddle. 

  
“Tony, come on, open your eyes,” Peter pushes, voice full of concern.

  
“What, why?” Tony asks, thinking that maybe something happened in the lab or worse, Natasha was home. That was a problem, they could get caught. 

  
The thought makes him open his eyes but what he sees isn’t his bedroom at the compound at all and he’s sure as hell not in his own bed. The only accurate thing is Peter, standing next to the bed staring down at him with a face full of worry. 

  
Brow furrowing, Tony surveys the room, noting a variety of machinery that looked a hell of a lot like the kind of stuff you would find in a hospital room. 

  
The hospital. 

  
Like a morning fog slowly drifting away he starts to remember. May, she was attacked, he fought the guy off, he was in the hospital. 

  
“Shit,” he mumbles out ineloquently and Peter’s lips go into a straight line. 

  
“Tony, it’s ok, you’re gonna be ok, you ripped your stitches open, lost a lot of blood, but they’ve got the wound closed again, say that you should be ok in a few weeks,” Peter tells him, attempting to be comforting but still sounding worried. “Why wouldn’t you put your watch on? You always have that on to have a repulser, what were you thinking taking that guy on unarmed while injured?”

  
Tony turns his head to stare at Peter full on, taking a moment to comprehend the information and question before responding. 

  
“I was thinking that May needed my help,” he replies, surprised that Peter seemed to be disregarding that, but Tony may have that wrong. “I left my watch upstairs, took it off when I was washing dishes.”

  
“I know, I found it by the sink, you should have had it on,” Peter chastises him, squeezing Tony’s hand in emphasis. “Thank you though, for what you did for May, I don’t know what I would do if I lost her,” he adds after, softly and Tony can see the tears in his eyes. 

  
“Of course,” Tony replies, as though it’s obvious that he would help her. “Where is she? Is she alright?”

  
“Yeah, she’s in the room next door talking to her coworkers. She's got a lot of bumps and bruises and cuts, and a bit of a mild concussion, but they are releasing her, she’s gonna be fine,” Peter assures him and Tony breathes out in relief. 

  
“Ok, good, how long am I stuck here?” Tony asks, looking around the room and at the wires and tubes attached to him, feeling an itch to start removing them. 

  
“Until tomorrow at least, settle down,” Peter instructs him, holding his hands to keep him from fiddling with his IV. 

  
“Why were you home?” Tony asks him suddenly, his train of thought jumping the track again thanks to the medication. 

  
“The group meeting ended early, and you sounded like you wanted to talk about something in those texts,” Peter replies, sounding tense. “Why is your bag packed and in the front hall?”

  
Tony stills for a moment, he’d forgotten about that. 

  
“Peter…”

  
“Was that what you wanted to talk to me about?” Peter demands, looking angry and hurt. 

  
“Yes,” Tony sighs, swallowing loudly. “May thinks it would be best if I leave, I don’t want to but honestly I do think you and her need some time to talk, work things out because no matter how hard we are trying, she’s not ok with us, she’s upset about it and a lot of things and then finding out that we were sneaking around absolutely did not help. So maybe a few days or something, just so you two can work things out might help.”

  
Peter huffs quietly, settling down and Tony realizes that he might have been reading the situation differently. 

  
“Pete I wasn’t leaving you, or ending things, trust me that’s not gonna happen, ever, I told May as much this morning,” Tony tells him firmly, squeezing his hand. 

  
Peter relaxes more, looking into Tony’s eyes and nodding.

  
“Yeah, I know that, I’m being ridiculous, but I hate that she’s still trying to come between us, though I get it, I know about the laws and all of that, but surely she can see by now that our situation is unique, I mean, we don’t live normal lives at all,” Peter grumbles out, frustrated.

  
“Until a few weeks ago, as far as she knew, you were living a normal life, aside from our relationship, and then she finds out that you are Spiderman and you take off to a foreign country to fight some giant alien threat and damn near die and all she knows is that you are some hero who saved everyone while she’s looking at you half dead in a hospital bed in Wakanda. That’s a fuck ton for anyone to take on Peter, and we’ve not exactly given her time to process that, let’s be honest. I realized that this morning when she and I were talking and I was reminding her that we take on risks almost daily that could kill either one of us and we need to take each day we can get,” Tony tells him. He’d had a lot of time to think it over during the day and he had realized how unfair they had been to her, how unfair he had been in so many ways because he knew about Spiderman, had for a long time, had been a part of that portion of Peter’s life while she had been shut out. Yes, Peter had solid reasons for not telling her but the way she found out, the speed with which she had had to adjust, it was unfathomable. Tony’s actually surprised she’s held it together as long as she has and he suspects she’s focused on their relationship and Tony being some sort of enemy as a distraction of sorts. “More than that, I think she feels pushed out, like she’s not really a part of your life anymore, and that you don’t need her anymore.”

  
Peter processes this, nodding after a moment. 

  
“Yeah, I probably should have a conversation with her, but you aren’t leaving, especially not now you are hurt even worse than you were before,” Peter declares firmly, leaving no room for argument.

  
“Yeah, you take that up with her,” Tony deflects, not wanting to be a part of that discussion, though feeling a spark of joy that he wasn’t going to have to leave Peter, making him smile softly and Peter laughs once, shaking his head before leaning down to kiss Tony gently. It hurts his lip but Tony doesn’t care, he’d never turn down a chance to kiss Peter. 

  
The click of the door forces them apart though and seconds later Happy bursts into the room.

  
“Tony? What the hell happened? Where’s May, is she alright?” He asks, turning in circles as he scans the room in a panic.

  
“Next door,” Peter informs him, pointing in the right direction and Happy hurries back out, not even bothering to ask Tony how he was.

  
“He’s smitten,” Tony jokes and Peter laughs. 

  
“Good,” Peter replies, sitting down carefully next to Tony on the bed, one hand landing on his chest. “Do not do this again, ok?” He demands in a rather serious tone.

  
“I shouldn’t save May again?” Tony asks incredulously.

  
“Not what I meant, just don’t leave yourself so unprotected again, so vulnerable. I couldn’t bear to lose her but I can’t bear to lose you either,” Peter says quietly, voice a little tight with emotion and Tony places his own hand on top of Peter’s. 

  
“Ok Pete, but I’m fine baby, I’m gonna be fine, stop worrying,” Tony replies, squeezing the younger man’s hand while trying to reach up to cup his cheek with the other but finding his progress impeded by the tube sticking out of it. 

  
The door opens with a soft click and May’s head pokes in first before the rest of her body follows. She’s black and blue, several angry looking scrapes on her forehead, but she’s upright and that’s a good thing as far as Tony is concerned. 

  
“Um, hey, Peter… and Tony, the doctors have said I’m clear to go,” she starts, feet shuffling uneasily. 

  
Peter tenses and Tony knows the younger man won’t want to leave him, but at the same time will want to go take care of his aunt. He’s feeling torn in two, the expression is all over his face. 

  
“Ok, you two should get on home so May can get some rest,” Tony offers, thinking that maybe he should make the decision for Peter. But Peter just looks more torn, glancing between the two of them and May looks down at the floor. It’s a tough situation for sure, because she’s already clearly been feeling sidelined and if Peter chooses Tony over her, it’s going to be a crushing blow and it’s not necessary. “Pete, I’m fine, I’m just gonna sleep buddy and I’ve got a hospital full of people looking after me, stop worrying.”

  
“Besides, I’ll be here to keep an eye on him,” a voice adds from the door and they all startle from the sound of it. “Tony, what in hell did you do to yourself?” Natasha asks, standing with her arms cross over chest, black leather of her coat creaking slightly. 

  
“Hey Nat, when did you get here?” Tony asks, shock dissipating slightly. 

  
“Fury called, saw the news reports, said I should get here to do any damage control and keep an eye on you,” she replies, smiling gently as she comes closer. 

  
“So, you’ve been assigned babysitting duty again, sorry,” Tony replies and she shrugs. 

  
“Ah well, it’s kinda nice, a somewhat easy assignment since you’re bed ridden,” she laughs and he can’t help the chuckle that comes up his own throat. “Anyway, it’s all good Peter, I’ve got him, you and May go on home.”

  
Peter glances at Tony, as though asking if this is alright and Tony nods. It’s weirdly reassuring to have Nat there. 

  
“Ok, well, I’ll be back tomorrow, they said they might let you out right?” Peter asks hopefully.

  
“Yeah, hopefully, we shall see though,” Tony replies and Peter nods, still looking unsure. 

  
“Ok,” Peter repeats, nodding more to himself than to anyone else in the room before leaning forward suddenly and pecking Tony’s lips. It’s so fast Tony can barely respond in his pain killer induced haze. “Love you.”

  
“Love you too,” Tony manages to whisper, aware of the two women in the room sharing in this display of affection. Both appear to be staring at the floor when he glances at them and it makes him laugh for some reason, earning him a strange look from Peter as he stands up from the bed. “Sorry, drugs,” Tony says by way of explanation and Peter frowns more and hesitates again. “Pete I’m fine, I’ll be fine,” he reassures the younger man again. 

  
Peter sighs quietly but turns towards his aunt, eyeing Natasha a little suspiciously and her groomed eyebrow goes up.

  
“Relax Peter, I’m not gonna smother him with a pillow in the middle of the night, he’ll be fine, I’ll call if anything changes,” she declares and he looks a little sheepish, offering his arm to his aunt as they slowly make their way out of the room. He spares one more look back at Tony before following her out, greeting Happy in the hall. Evidently he planned on driving them home. 

  
As soon as the door closes, Natasha gives him a long hard look. 

  
“You are fucking Iron Man and you took on a purse thief bare knuckle because?” She asks incredulously. 

  
“I… forgot my watch upstairs,” he replies. “Besides, it’s not like I could plan for something like that, it was happening and I had to act fast,” he adds indignantly.

  
“What about the damn suit in the reactor in your chest there?” She asks, head tilted to the side.

  
“Destroyed by Thanos and I haven’t exactly had time to get it fixed,” he replies evenly and she shrinks slightly, biting her lip. 

  
“Ok, fair enough, but I think we need to fix you up, being unarmed is not an option,” she decides. 

  
“Yeah I know, now especially,” he relents.

  
“Why didn’t you just get F.R.I.D.A.Y. to send back up?” She asks, head tilted again.

  
“I… wasn’t wearing the glasses either,” he replies quietly. 

  
“Ok for God’s sake Tony,” she declares, hands dropping down to wave at her sides. “You are a fucking genius billionaire mechanical engineering mastermind and you were that fucking unprepared for a completely basic mugging.”

  
“Again, it happened fast and I had to act fast and it’s not like I have a bunch of stuff laying around their apartment, on account of the fact that I don’t actually live there,” he points out hotly. 

  
“I’m guessing you are going back there though, because I know Peter is gonna want you there, so we are going to have to fix that and quick,” she decides, already pulling her phone out of her pocket.

  
“Who are you texting? Is the whole team back?” He asks, suddenly feeling a little left out.

  
“Not yet, they’re on their way, not much else to be done in Wakanda and we need to regroup anyway, though it’s gonna be tough with you two down in Queens,” she replies, concentrating on her phone. “We’re gonna have to keep an eye on you, from a distance of course to protect Peter’s anonymity, but you clearly can’t be left unsupervised at this point.”

  
Tony frowns, not particularly liking the idea of being watched over like a small child.

  
“Chill Tony, you’re gonna be down and out for a bit, let us help.”

  
“Alright fine, but not too close,” he decides. 

  
“Good,” she replies, plopping down in the chair in the room, boot covered feet going up onto the edge of the bed, phone still in her hand. “Get some sleep.”

  
Dutifully, Tony closes his eyes and does try to sleep, but the ache in his side, not to mention all of the fresh bruises on the rest of his body courtesy of the guy punching and kicking him, are enough to keep him awake and instead he feels a headache creeping in as well. 

  
Just as he’s wondering if he can get any more painkillers, the door opens and the young doctor steps in and promptly stops dead in his tracks when he spots Natasha.

  
“It’s alright if I keep an eye on him for the night right?” She asks in an uncharacteristically sweet voice, smiling seductively at the doctor.

  
Entirely flummoxed the doctor just stares at her for a long awkward moment before shaking his head once and finding himself.

  
“Um, visiting hours ended about an hour ago,” he says dumbly.

  
“Yes, but we can both agree he’s a special patient and he needs a certain level of protection, that’s what I’m here for,” she replies in a saccharine voice, tilting her head in a seductive way and the young man relents. 

  
“Yes, yes of course, I’m sure it shouldn’t be a problem… so long as you just, stay in here,” he decides unsurely.

  
“Of course, I’ll be quiet as a mouse, you won’t even know I’m here,” she agrees, voice lower now, just a little husky and Tony thinks she might be pouring it on a little thick. 

  
“Right,” the doctor says, clearly flustered, eyes darting around the room and going over Tony before returning to him with a start, as though he’s just remembering that Tony is there at all. “Um, just came to see how you’re feeling,” he decides, coming over to the bed and quickly checking Tony’s vitals as well as the bandage on his abdomen. 

  
“Good, except for the pain,” Tony replies sarcastically. 

  
“Ok, not a problem, let me just up your morphine here,” the doctor replies, unfazed as he adjusts the little dosage machine beside Tony. It takes only a few minutes before Tony’s body starts to go a rather delicious kind of numb and his eyes start drooping. “Alright Mr. Stark, you get some rest, I’ll be back to check on you periodically, if you need anything else, just push the red button on your remote here,” the doctor explains but Tony barely hears him. All he can feel is his head sinking into the pillow. 


	31. Chapter 31

The hospital does decide to release Tony the next day, with strict instructions on how to behave while at home, namely he was to remain as horizontal as possible except for quick bathroom breaks and to eat. 

  
Peter worries endlessly from home, wanting to come and help get him to the car but he also doesn’t want to leave May, who hadn’t had a good night, the trauma of what had happened finally catching up to her. So Tony tells Happy to come collect him, leaving Peter at home. 

  
Happy drives like a 95-year-old the entire way, worried eyes glancing at Tony in the mirror every few seconds but Tony is so doped up on pain killers that he doesn’t even care. 

  
Natasha comes with them, deciding that Tony would still need help and it didn’t seem fair to leave it all on Peter to take care of two injured people while also studying and writing finals. 

  
The days bleed together for Tony as he lives in a drug induced dream state while lying in Peter’s bed, giggling periodically and mumbling inappropriate comments. After a week, Peter calls the doctor and gets his dosage adjusted and he becomes a lot more lucid, and therefore more bored. Peter gets Happy to buy a small TV to install in his bedroom for Tony but he still finds himself restless, annoyed with being laid up and therefore just cranky in general. Peter seems to be the only one with skin thick enough to deal with him and as the first week of July passes, Natasha decides she’s had enough and heads back to the compound. 

  
Feeling stronger, Tony starts coming out and sitting on the couch more and more, watching endless movies and Netflix and other streaming services with Peter and May. She was given six weeks off of work to recover, both mentally and physically and Tony thinks that’s fair. They don’t speak much, but Tony notes that there hasn’t been much said about him still being there. He’d come back to the apartment the day he left the hospital to find his bag neatly unpacked in Peter’s bedroom and not a word from May about it. She doesn’t say much to him at all really, though she isn’t rude or impolite either. It’s civil, verging on friendly at times but minimal. 

  
The summer drags on and Tony feels increasingly bad that Peter is spending it stuck indoors looking after him, even after he doesn’t really need looking after anymore. May decides to delay going back to work at the beginning of August, likely so the two of them won’t get any alone time and Tony gets his stitches out and is cleared to get back to a more normal life. But nothing much changes at home and Tony feels a little like he’s going stir crazy. He’s never been much of a guy who could live a quiet mundane life, couldn’t stand it honestly and the only thing keeping him sane now is Peter and their quiet chats on the couch after May has gone to bed. They don’t dare try anything more, since she gets up frequently to use the bathroom or get a glass of water, obvious attempts to keep an eye on them but she doesn’t want to admit it. 

  
Tony and May don’t get the chance to properly speak until the week before Peter’s birthday, when he goes out to pick up some groceries since Happy was otherwise engaged. 

  
Pete’s birthday felt more like a specter than an oncoming celebration and Tony has mixed feelings. He knows it’s good because then Peter at least is considered of legal age for consent but they would still need May’s consent if they were ever to go public, not that Tony was planning to. But he gets the sense that May is especially edgy about Peter’s birthday because she seems to think he’s going to leave her, move in with Tony and she will never see him again. Tony is in no way going to let that happen and besides, as legal guardian, she could easily block it from happening, but whether she would go that far, or even feels she can considering Tony’s connections is clearly causing her a lot of consternation. 

  
“Thank you,” she says quietly after Peter had left. They are on the couch, as usual. Tony swears he's gained weight being so lazy for so long but Peter keeps informing him he hasn’t. 

  
“Hmm?” Tony asks ineloquently, glancing over at her and away from the episode of Family Feud they were watching. Somehow it had become a weird guilty pleasure of his. 

  
“Thank you, for what you did, I don’t think I’ve actually said that properly,” she expands, still speaking softly. “You saved me, even after I basically kicked you out.”

  
Tony shrugs slightly, not feeling personally that the two events were connected. 

  
“Of course, and you don’t have to thank me, I’m just glad you are ok,” he replies. “And weirdly, I’m still here,” he adds with a laugh.

  
“Yeah, Peter made it clear no other option was going to be acceptable, but I didn’t argue, I sort of felt like I owed you that much, to be taken care of properly, that is why you were here in the first place anyway,” she replies, glancing at him sideways.

  
“Mm, yeah, until I went and broke the rules, I am sorry about that by the way, I should’ve been more respectful of you and your rules, this is your home after all,” he replies. While he never regretted sex with Peter, because who the hell would, he did feel a little guilty now about them sneaking around and him being so petulant about it. 

  
May nods, face relaxing. 

  
“Um, what should we do for his birthday? I feel a little bad that he’s lost his summer,” she asks him carefully, glancing sideways again. 

  
“Dunno, maybe invite some friends over for dinner, get him a cake at least, sucks that we can’t really go out and do something big, he deserves that, but he’s so determined to remain anonymous we can’t risk it,” Tony sighs. He’d considered throwing a bash at the compound, at least that wouldn’t disturb the neighbor's but the entire place was still being watched by various media teams, trying to catch a glimpse of the elusive Spiderman and it was just too risky. 

  
“Yeah, yeah that could work, I think he’d like that,” she replies quietly, trying to sound enthusiastic.

  
“I’m not taking him away May, I would never do that and that has never been the plan, ever,” he tells her firmly. Keeping the whole Maldives thing to himself because what she didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt her. She turns and stares at him full on now, oversized glasses making her eyes seem even bigger. “Look, we did talk about this a little and I know he made ultimatums but that was never going to happen, I promise. He loves you, adores you and he would never hurt you and besides, he knows he’s got to finish high school and stay focused. That’s why he turned me down to move to the compound as an Avenger already. Nothing is going to change.” 

  
The final statement is loaded but he intends for it to be. Yeah, Peter wasn’t moving away or quitting school or anything like that, but that nothing changing also meant their relationship as well. It was going to continue, just as it already was, maybe even grow stronger. 

  
She nods after a moment, only looking partially mollified but she does relax a bit more. 

  
“What about that trip to Europe he was supposed to go on next week? He hasn’t said anything all summer about it and I know he wanted to go, but now he doesn’t seem to care, I would hate for him to miss out on that,” she says after a long quiet moment, a contestant on the screen replying ‘orange’ to a question of what items could be mistakenly identified as UFO’s, the audience laughing. 

  
“Yeah I don’t know, he was planning to go, but he hasn’t said anything to me either, I’ll ask him. I hope he’s not swerving it because he still thinks he needs to take care of us, because that’s not true anymore,” Tony replies. It was a class trip to Italy to take in the history and culture before school started, the decathlon team had been fundraising for it for over a year, including Pete. 

  
“Ok, thank you,” May replies, giving him a genuine smile this time, glad that he agreed with her. 

***

“I don’t know Tony, I don’t need to go, I mean, I’ve been to Germany now, so it’s not like I haven’t been anywhere like that before, so it’s no big deal and it’s just a bunch of old relics,” Peter replies later when Tony asks him, May in bed. He knew in about ten minutes she’d step out for water or whatever so they didn’t have long for this conversation or she would end up involved and Peter would likely end up getting defensive. 

  
“Peter, you and your team worked hard for this and I know you wanted to go, so go, have fun with your friends, you deserve it. I’m fine, your aunt is fine, we will be fine, we are capable of feeding and looking after ourselves for a week babe, ok?” Tony urges him, knowing that statement wasn’t entirely true, unless one counted ordering take out as feeding themselves since May’s cooking was still terrifying. 

  
“Tony, I’m good, I did want to go, but I mean, after Germany and Wakanda, I think I’ve had my fill of traveling for a while and I want to spend more time with you before I go back to school,” Peter says gently, leaning his cheek on the back of the couch and staring at Tony with big imploring doe eyes. 

  
“I know it’s been rough, you’ve had a lot to deal with, which honestly is more of a reason to go, to do something fun, because let’s be clear, Germany and Wakanda weren’t fun, that’s not traveling for pleasure, you’ve earned this, so please consider it,” Tony pushes, not willing to be overthrown by those eyes, no matter how hard Peter was trying. 

  
“Ugh, fine, I’ll think about it,” he relents, rolling his eyes. 

  
Behind them, May’s door opens and they listen as she heads towards the bathroom, pausing for a minute and clearly looking down the hall to see what they were up to. 

  
“May, relax, we aren’t having sex,” Peter says loudly, flopping back against the couch and Tony stares at him wide eyed. 

  
“Peter!” She replies, shocked. “That’s not necessary!”

  
“Then stop checking on us,” he replies. “What?” He says to Tony when he sees the older man shaking his head slowly at him. “Oh, whatever.”

***

With some careful planning, Tony and May put together a small party for Peter for his birthday. The team is invited, along with Ned and that’s about it because they couldn’t very well invite any more of Peter’s friends without major risk, which sucked. But they do their best in their planning to still make it festive and Tony orders him several presents that he surreptitiously wraps at night when everyone else is asleep. He gets him an expensive watch, though not too ostentatious that it would stand out, several funny science t-shirts and a car. Which was outlandish, and ostentatious and frankly ridiculous when Peter had only just got his license and it would raise a lot of questions in the neighborhood if he was seen driving it. But Tony couldn’t resist and so it sat parked at the compound currently, a shiny black Audi A8 with red details on the interior. 

  
They find out through Ned that the night before Peter’s birthday there is already a party happening, some sort of end of summer shindig with all of his friends and classmates at the annoying guy Flash’s place and Peter had been invited but hadn’t said a word to Tony or May about it. Evidently that was because he didn’t plan to go, for the same reason he wasn’t planning to go to Europe. May jumps on him, demanding he go because that way he could have some fun with his friends before school started and especially since they couldn’t invite those friends to his actual birthday party. Tony starts to agree with her when Peter balks loudly, reminding Tony of what happened the last time he forced him to go to a party and it makes him back down immediately.

  
“Ned wants you to come and it’s been months since that happened, MJ will be there, and you don’t get these years back you know,” she reminds him. Something that apparently she’d said when trying to convince him to go to prom. Tony doesn’t bring that up though, reminding her of prom was a bad idea considering how it had turned out.

  
Finally, with extra pressure from Ned, who reminds Peter of his abandonment at prom himself, he agrees to go to the party. For an hour. He’s quite specific about the time limit. 

  
Natasha pops over as he’s leaving, having agreed to come help decorate in exchange for free larb from the Thai restaurant down the street and they set to work while Peter hopefully has some fun. 

  
Tony doesn’t like to push him into doing these things, parties and high school events when clearly Peter just wasn’t someone who was going to be interested in them. He was happier working with his hands in the lab or hanging out with Tony or May. It was just another signal of how different his life was compared to the other kids at his school. He had more life experience than all of them combined and it showed. He wants to respect Peter’s autonomy of choice and knowing his own mind. Though he still thinks he should take the Europe trip because he suspects that Peter secretly wants to go but doesn’t want to leave the two of them unsupervised for some reason. 

  
As what could only be taken as some sort of punishment on Tony, Peter chooses to wear the tight black jeans and tight black t-shirt to the party, looking like sex on legs as he goes out the door with a quick smirk Tony’s way. As much as Tony wanted to respect May’s rules properly this time, moments like that made it damn near impossible. 

  
As a distraction, he blows up balloons while watching CNN on the TV. He can hear May and Natasha chatting and laughing in the kitchen as they prep some snacks they can set out tomorrow night. Tony can’t help but feel good about the fact that May was starting to really fit in with the team, getting along with Natasha and whatever the hell was happening with Happy. He hopes that will spread to the others tomorrow night, though he suspects she isn’t pleased with Steve or Bucky on Tony’s behalf, like Peter. It seemed no matter her feelings towards Tony, she was still very sympathetic towards him for what had happened to his parents. 

  
The news is fairly quiet, most of the furor over who Spiderman was had died down as the short attention span of the collective public moved on to the next story going on. Apparently some Hollywood star had been caught selling drugs so it was headline news and not very interesting to Tony. 

  
He’s focusing on the red balloon in his hand when he hears the dramatic music announcing breaking news as it crosses the screen. But the air he was about to expel into the balloon gets caught in his throat as he looks up at what’s playing on the television in front of him. 

  
“Breaking news this hour as we have received video and pictures with some very shocking revelations about the Avengers, namely Iron Man and Spiderman from an anonymous source,” the newscaster states with barely veiled excitement in her voice. Seconds later the video starts playing, with a digitally disguised voice speaking over Peter’s high school picture. He looks so sweet and innocent in the picture that it’s almost distracting to what is being said. 

  
“Spiderman’s real name is Peter Parker, he’s a 16-year-old high school student from Queens, New York, Tony Stark found him and brought him onto the team, mentored him and then did something else,” the voice hurries out over Peter’s smiling face. The picture then changes and Tony feels sick immediately, heart jumping into his throat while his body goes cold, balloon dropping from his hand to the floor. “Tony Stark, Iron Man, everyone’s favorite billionaire playboy philanthropist himself, has been in a sexual relationship with this kid for several months, Tony is not the man you think he is, he’s not a hero, he’s not to be celebrated and given awards, he’s a disgusting pervert,” the voice snarls over a painfully clear picture from inside Peter’s bedroom of them embracing, mid kiss and Tony knows it’s a still from footage from the camera, which means this person likely has more of it and potentially has had it for a while, from before Tony deleted it. 

  
Heart pounding painfully in his chest, he stops listening as the newscaster comes back on to start delightfully dissecting every second of that video. All he can think is that he needs to go get Peter, rescue him before the news hits people’s social media at that party. 

  
“I thought you deleted that video!” May screeches at him from the doorway to the kitchen and he realizes both of them have seen it, standing and staring in shock at him and then the TV and then back to him.

  
“I did, every file was wiped clean, whoever this is must have got it before I did,” Tony says quietly, shame and guilt rolling over him in waves. He never should have put that fucking camera in, never. He’s now ruined Peter’s life forever, not to mention his own, May’s and anyone else who gets caught in this crossfire. “I have to go get him,” he declares, grabbing Natasha’s keys and stumbling as he hurries out the door, barely getting his shoes on his feet and grabbing his phone as he goes. 

  
He knew where the party was, since Peter had made sure everyone did in case he wanted to be picked up and rescued from it. Tony hates that that is exactly what’s happening. He gets about two blocks before his phone rings and he puts it on speakerphone, already knowing who it is.

  
“Tony what the hell is going on?” Peter whispers angrily. “Is this for real? Who is this guy and why is he doing this? Everyone here has seen, they all know, I’m hiding upstairs on the roof, I don’t even know what to do right now.” He sounds frantic at the end, and Tony can just hear the din of a lot of voices in the background and his heart breaks for Peter. 

  
“I’m on my way to get you right now, be there in like two minutes, watch for me, where’s Ned?” Tony asks, thinking that surely his best friend might try to help. 

  
“Downstairs, he’s freaking about that picture of you and me, demanding to know everything and I don’t know what to say or do,” he replies and Tony groans.

Of course. Ned would have no trouble helping if it was just the Spiderman thing, but the relationship was new to Ned as well and knowing him, he’d have a lot to say and a lot of questions about it. 

  
“Fuck, ok, coming down the street now, be ready, do you have a way down from the roof?”

  
“Ugh, no, not really, I didn’t bring my web shooters, didn’t think I’d need them, idiot that I am, as bad as you for forgetting your fucking watch. All I can do is jump down to the balcony and then down to the ground,” Peter decides and Tony hears him moving.

  
“For God’s sake, do not break your legs,” Tony yells, pulling up to the house and screeching to a stop. There are about fifty kids standing out front, all of them noticing the shiny black SUV and pointing and chattering, calling to their friends inside. Tony thanks Natasha for choosing such dark tinting and starts looking for Peter, spotting some movement as a figure in black drops off the roof and onto a balcony, the occupants of the space jumping in surprise and then shouting as Peter launches himself off of it and onto the grass below, dropping and rolling once back onto his feet gracefully as he runs towards the car. The sound from the kids reaches a deafening level and they all start trying to follow Peter, hurrying after him shouting comments and questions, taking pictures and God knows what else, but he doesn’t acknowledge them as he damn near rips the door off, leaping into the car.

  
“GO!” He shouts and Tony floors it, squealing the tires as he takes off like a shot down the street and hurtles around the next corner. “What the fuck Tony!” Pete yells as they get away. 

  
“I don’t know Peter, I honestly don’t, we will figure it out, I just needed to get you safe first,” he says lamely. “I’m so sorry baby, this is all my fault.”

  
“What? How is it your fault?” Peter asks more quietly, sounding confused, staring at him with his brows pulled together.

  
“He clearly got that picture of you and me from the camera, probably how he found you, whoever it is obviously has an issue with me and is going after you to get to me,” Tony replies, remembering the vitriol in the digital voice as it described him. “I should never have put that camera in,” he adds more quietly. 

  
“That’s not your fault Tony, if some asshole is doing this shit, you didn’t make them,” Peter points out and Tony shakes his head.

  
“I’ve got a lot of enemies Peter, a lot of them I’ve earned for good reason,” he replies, knowing how much his past attitude and behavior had rubbed people the wrong way and the shit he’d done with no regard to the people he stepped on. 

  
“Still not your fault Tony, whoever this is hacked into your system, your files and chose to do this,” Peter declares. “You’re just as much a victim in this as me.”

  
Tony stays quiet, partly because he still doesn’t agree, but also because as he rounds the corner to Peter’s building, he sees it. The mass of news vans all parked out front, some still arriving, while others are busy setting up their lights and satellite dishes and a few are even already reporting from the front door area, their spotlights lighting up the bricks. 

  
“Fuck.” Peter states angrily, staring at the mess himself. “What the hell are we going to do?”

  
Tony doesn’t answer, because he honestly doesn’t know. What could they do? He grabs his phone, thinking of calling Fury but it rings before he gets the chance.

  
“Where are you guys?” Natasha asks as soon as he hits the accept button. 

  
“Just down the street, looking at the mess out front,” Tony replies, voice deadpan as he tries to mentally absorb it all. 

  
“Park somewhere hidden and come in Peter’s window, you’ve got to help him pack, we’re gonna have to go to the compound, we can’t stay here and neither can they,” she declares. “Fury is on his way, the rest of the team are already looking into the video, trying to find the source, who this is and how they did it.”

  
Tony has a horrifying vision of Bruce finding the rest of the footage and knows that he wants to be the one doing that search.

  
“Tell them to hold off until I get there, it’s my private server, my files, I need to deep dive them manually,” he tells her, turning around quickly and circling around to park in a dark lot a short walk from the other end of the entrance into the alleyway leading to the fire escape. 

  
“Ok fine, but they are still getting started on what they can, I’m helping May get stuff together,” she replies. “Hurry up.”

  
Looking around as carefully as possible, Tony quickly relays the plan to Peter before the two of them slip out of the car and hurry across the street and into the alley. Peter nimbly jumps up to grab the slide down ladder, bringing it down as quietly as possible before motioning for Tony to start ascending. Both of them try to be as quiet as possible, but the stupid metal stairs keep squeaking and Tony is just waiting for the moment a camera guy or reporter pokes their head around the corner or walks by and sees them. 

  
Peter’s window is open when they get there, and they both jump through as soon as they reach it, breathing hard from the exertion and adrenaline. Peter hurries to his closet and grabs his old suitcase, tossing it on the bed and quickly loading clothes into it while Tony grabs his backpack and puts his laptop, school stuff and electronics in it before heading to the bathroom to grab his toiletries before focusing on his own stuff. It takes them almost 20 minutes to all be ready and May looks stricken as she shuts the lights off and makes sure the deadbolt is on, grabbing a picture of Ben as she passes a shelf and tucking it into her purse. It’s enough to amplify Tony’s guilt, that he’s taking her away from her home now. She’s innocent in all of this and yet all he’s done is ruin her life. 

  
None of them say anything as they head towards Peter’s window, all of them laden with bags as they shut off the final light and close the window. Using a web, Pete manages to get the lock in place to prevent anyone from breaking in and then they start descending down. 

  
If Tony thought they made too much noise going up, the four of them going down was practically a high school marching band playing the Flight of the Bumblebee in a cavernous room. He is absolutely stunned when they make it to the bottom without getting caught and he assumes it’s only because the reporters and media members were making enough of their own noise that they hadn’t heard the four escapees.

  
Scuttling quickly, they hurry to the car and throw the bags in the back before Natasha jumps into the backseat with May and Tony and Pete jump in the front. Tony tries to drive normally, not speeding or squealing tires or anything to keep from attracting attention as they head out of Queens towards the highway going upstate. The drive is quiet, tense as a guitar string and dark aside from Natasha texting on her phone. 

  
Tony doesn’t think about the team until he’s pulling into the garage and parking. He realizes at that moment that he’s about to face the people he considers family, people he respects and trusts with his life, people who now know the truth about him and Peter. Bruce, Steve, Rhodey, Sam, Wanda, maybe even Thor. How would they react? 

  
He gets out on shaky legs, reminding himself that he doesn’t regret or even feel bad about his relationship with Peter, because he doesn’t. He loves Peter and aside from the age difference, their relationship was just like any other couple, normal and healthy for the most part, as it could be when the two people involved were also superheroes, one of them enhanced. But he knows the team may not see it that way, that they won’t understand.

  
Laden with bags he starts following Natasha into the lower level and up to the living quarters and he can feel Peter beside him, a strange sort of pillar of strength and it helps keep Tony moving. 

  
As soon as they get off the elevator, they can hear voices in the war room and decide to drop the bags in the living room for the time being before going to face the music. The second Tony and Peter step into the room it drops into dead silence, a mixture of expressions directed their way. Tony isn’t surprised at all by the judgement from Steve or Rhodey, that was to be expected, same with Sam. Wanda just appears perplexed, like she can’t quite figure it out, Bruce is a little bit of that as well, but that was also generally Bruce’s face so it was hard to tell what he was thinking. He doesn’t see Dr. Strange or Thor and he finds that weirdly disappointing, but also understandable, maybe they just didn’t want to be involved in this particular crisis. 

  
“Where’s Thor? And Dr. Strange? I thought the whole team had come back to New York?” Peter asks, clearly he had been doing an inventory as well. 

  
“Thor’s here, he’s having a nap, he said to tell you guys congrats, apparently your relationship isn’t actually that weird to him,” Bruce says quietly, still staring at Tony like he had two heads. It’s weirdly gratifying to know that at least one of them didn’t hate him, but it sucked that that person was also currently sleeping. 

  
“Ok, I need to get to work on finding out how this person got into my server, track them down and hopefully identify them, so I’m gonna head to the lab,” Tony decides, the discomfort of the feeling in the room too much for him. He’s fully aware he's being a coward, that they want answers but he just doesn’t feel up to giving them right now. 

  
The shock of the video was just a bit too raw right now. Not to mention that the threat of him going to jail was back as a possibility because there was no stopping the police from pursuing it now, not with it so public. So the best he could do was find the guy who did it and hopefully stop him from making things worse for Peter and May. 

  
He doesn’t wait for a reply, just turns on his heel and heads to the lab, instructing F.R.I.D.A.Y. to go into dark mode, locking her down to just his own instruction before he asks her to bring up activity on his server since the beginning of January. It’s a huge pile of data to sort through, even more than he had planned on and he sighs deeply. 

  
He dives into it though, almost happy for the distraction of looking at codes and tracing lines through the system. Several hours pass without him even noticing and no one comes to talk to him, not even Peter, though that shouldn’t surprise him since he had basically abandoned Peter when he walked away. Left him to face the music when Tony couldn’t. 

  
It was too late now to go back and change it. 

  
So he drinks coffee and searches, and tries not to think about it. 


	32. Chapter 32

After so many weeks of sleeping normally, staying up all night doing a manual deep dive into his server and chasing leads was a lot more difficult than it used to be for Tony. While a search of the activity for one particular IP is running he slips into the kitchen to make some more coffee, though his stomach was already protesting the amount he’d taken in so far.

  
He feels Steve come in more than he sees him, can just sense his judging eyes and perfected grimace that he wore when he was particularly disappointed. It was fucking infuriating on the best of days and this definitely wasn’t the best of days. 

  
Still. Tony isn’t entirely sure how to react, he knows why he’s there but the pressure of Steve’s judgement without him saying anything is a little too much for the small space. 

  
“Do you want a sandwich?” Tony asks lamely, an attempt at a joke and he hears Steve tense, the crinkle of his leather coat as his shoulders pull back. 

  
“No, what I want is an explanation Tony,” he replies firmly. 

  
“I’m sure you do, but not sure you would understand even if I did explain it to you,” Tony retorts, finally turning around to face him while his coffee percolates. 

  
“Try me,” Steve replies and Tony just wants to slap him. For whatever reason, Steve seemed to think he should behave like Tony’s father, despite the fact that technically, Tony was older if you eliminated the years Steve spent frozen. But clearly the man had spent enough time with Howard that he had picked up some of his traits and it just added to Steve’s charm in a not so pleasant way. 

  
“Alright, how’s this, after the accords, after Germany, after Siberia…” Tony stops, breath catching in his throat slightly as memories of that particular video attempt to push into his mind but he fights it off. “Well my life went to shit, it felt like one downward spiral after another and I was basically alone, abandoned here, treated like a leper even though it was my family that was the victim. The only solid thing I had was Peter. He was my constant, the one person who didn’t look at me like I was a problem to fix, a disappointment or a fuck up, the one person who actually talked to me as a person, who treated me like an equal, and that my opinion mattered.”

  
He stops, breathing hard as he stares at Steve, refusing to back down and the other man remains tense, unmoving. 

  
“When I got out of Afghanistan, when I built the first Iron Man suit, I felt invincible, that nothing could touch me and no one could beat me, I was cocky, arrogant, I know it, I’ve learned from that, but no one has let me forget that or frankly treated me any differently from then,” Tony carries on. “Except Peter.”

  
“That’s not true Tony,” Steve finally says, sounding offended, as though he had the right to be.

  
“From my perspective, it is,” he retorts and Steve crosses his arms over his chest defensively.

  
“Do you actually think that is a good defense for what you are doing to that boy? How long has this been going on anyway?” Steve asks, refusing to back down or acknowledge his own role in anything that had happened. 

  
“He’s not a boy, if you took five minutes and had a fucking conversation with him, you’d find that out, and what does it matter at this point?” Tony shrugs, pouring some milk into his coffee. “Couple of months, that’s it, he was 16 when it started.” Then something occurs to him and he glances up at the clock, it’s after three in the morning. “Actually, today is his 17th birthday, meaning he’s legally allowed to give consent now in the state of New York.”

  
“That isn’t going to matter,” Steve points out unhelpfully. 

  
“No, I know,” Tony agrees. He just needed to find the bastard who did this to them before he got hauled off to jail, that was his goal. 

  
“You still don’t think this is wrong, do you?” Steve pushes, his tone just a bit snobby for Tony’s liking.

  
“No, Steven, I don’t and you aren’t exactly one to be throwing stones here, considering the trail of destruction you left behind you as you went hell bent for leather to protect your precious Bucky, but you don’t seem to give a shit about that on your righteous high horse there,” Tony replies angrily, heading towards the door and stopping again in surprise when he finds May standing there, eyes going between the two of them. She still seems suspicious of Steve, which Tony finds far more gratifying than he should.

  
“Peter needs to see you, he has an idea,” she tells Tony, turning and heading back out and he follows her to get away from Steve and his judgy pinched face. 

  
She leads him back to the lab, where he quickly notes that the search he started is still ongoing before turning his attention to Peter, who has his laptop on the table. A fresh wave of guilt breaks over him for abandoning him earlier but Peter doesn’t seem all that phased. 

  
“Ok, I think I have a solution for the picture issue, I managed to doctor and create a whole new image of you, so it looks like the original was actually a photoshopped fraud,” he quickly explains, fingers moving quickly as he brings up the original picture of the two of them embracing and then moves it so it separates to show two images, one of Peter kissing May on the cheek, done in a way to make it look like she was taking a selfie and it’s clear she has helped with this deviousness on Peter’s part. The other picture is Tony, standing in what appears to be his bedroom here at the compound but instead of Peter, he’s kissing Natasha, clearly another person who willingly participated to help create these new images. He’s not sure he likes the idea of a story getting out about him and Natasha, but it was infinitely better than going to jail. It’s fucking brilliant and he can’t believe how good the quality is of the images that Peter has created. 

  
“Holy shit Peter, this is amazing, have you put meta data on them to give them further authenticity?” Tony asks, leaning in for a closer look.

  
“Do you think I’m an idiot?” Peter asks sarcastically. “Of course I did, literally only you and I could take them apart to tell they aren’t real, some idiot in a TV station or newsroom is never gonna be able to tell, but this all rests on us finding the guy who did this in the first place to make sure he doesn’t release any more pictures or anything.”

“I know Peter, I know, I’m working on it, I’m trying to manually go through all of the threads because I don’t even trust Friday to do it for me right now but every lead I’ve found has been a dead end,” Tony laments. 

  
“Might be an unpopular idea, but I should call Ned, he’s fucking insane when it comes to this kind of stuff, best I’ve ever seen,” Peter says before looking at Tony sheepishly. “Sorry. Other than you obviously.”

  
“Well, I’m clearly not as good as I thought if I can’t find anything, but how in hell would we swing it? Ned knows you are Spiderman but I don’t think we should be confirming anything else to him,” Tony points out. “What are we going to do about the Spiderman thing anyway? How are we gonna put that Jack back in the box?”

  
“We can’t, I’m gonna have to eat that, I think it’ll make the faked pictures more plausible if I admit to the Spiderman thing, I can live with it,” Peter sighs and Tony feels guilty, reminded once again that this was all his fault. “As for Ned, we will show him the fake pictures maybe? Though what if he finds other stuff when he’s looking,” Peter wonders, biting his lip unsurely. 

  
“Ok well, we will back burner Ned until the morning at least, give me a little more time,” Tony decides. It was after 3 after all, they couldn’t wake the kid, how in hell would they explain to his parents that he needed to go to the Avengers compound at that hour anyway? “Oh, by the way, Happy Birthday baby,” Tony says quietly and Peter looks up at him in surprise and then glances at the clock and gives one humorless laugh. 

  
“Wow, shit, it is my birthday, not really worried about it right now though,” he decides, turning back to his computer and Tony decides that that isn’t ok. Peter should not just dismiss his own birthday because of a disaster created by Tony. Checking again on his search, he notes that it is still going and judging by the status bar, had about halfway to go. 

  
“Do you want one of your presents?” Tony asks with a smirk and Peter glances at him and frowns. 

  
“This is not the time Tony, we are in the middle of a crisis in case you haven’t noticed,” Peter points out, fingers moving across his keyboard. 

  
“Yup, I’m aware Pete and I’m also aware that this could end very badly for me so forgive me if I’m gonna grab at something happy and fun when I can, so leave the computer, and come with me,” Tony says firmly, reaching out and grabbing Peter’s arm and trying to pull him away, which with Pete’s strength was like trying to pull a bulldozer out of the mud. 

  
“Tony, seriously?” He balks, eyes wide. 

  
“My search is still going, you’ve got the pictures done, we’ve got a minute, let’s go,” Tony pushes, feeling a touch frantic. He was trying to keep the panic at bay but the extreme levels of caffeine charging through his veins were making that more and more difficult. Peter searches his face and eyes, seeing the chaos going on behind them and nods after a moment, clearly deciding to humor him before the wheels came completely off.

  
“Ok, but just a minute ok?” He bargains and Tony nods dramatically, pulling again and this time Peter comes with him willingly. 

  
He pulls him all the way down to the garage where the car was parked. He had intended to get a big, ridiculous red bow to put on it, maybe even some ribbon or a cover that Peter would have to pull off but there was no time now, so naked would have to do. Thankfully it’s parked on its own, so it stands out, shiny and sleek in the low lighting in the garage. 

  
Tony pulls him around the corner and stops in front of the car, turning to look at Peter for his reaction and finds him looking around confused, as though he doesn’t even see the car. 

  
“Pete,” Tony says with a laugh, gesturing with his hand and Peter looks at the car and frowns slightly. 

  
“That’s your car, is it behind the car?” Peter asks and Tony can only shake his head at how such an intelligent being could be so incredibly, adorably stupid sometimes. 

  
“It is the car Peter, that’s not mine, it’s yours,” Tony says with a wobbly voice, laughter threatening again. 

  
This time he gets a reaction, Peter’s face goes blank for a second before his eyes widen comically, mouth dropping open until he looks like a cartoon. 

  
“What?” He yells, voice up several octaves. “Are you kidding me? You bought me a fucking car?” 

  
“Yes, figured it was about time you had one, stopped taking the stupid train to school, I know you like my Audi and I didn’t want something too outlandish because well, I know you,” Tony explains, pushing the button on the remote to unlock it and the car beeps twice in acknowledgement, lights flashing. 

  
“Holy shit Tony,” Peter breathes out, hands going through his hair before he basically dances towards the car, opening the driver’s side door and sliding into the seat with a giant grin on his face. “This is amazing.”

  
Tony follows him, getting in the other side and watching fondly as Peter’s eyes go over everything, fingers touching each button reverently before he wraps his hands around the steering wheel with a giant grin on his face. 

  
“Put your foot on the brake, and then push this button,” Tony instructs, showing him the ignition and seconds later the car roars to life, purring like a perfectly tuned kitten. The lights on the dashboard and stereo system all light up, computer components coming to life and Peter’s eyes twinkle as he watches it all. 

  
“I’m actually a little terrified to drive it,” he admits. “I mean, I kinda destroyed Flash’s dad’s car.”

  
“That was before you got proper lessons and your license, but just be careful, you’ll get used to it,” Tony encourages him. He knew Peter would take good care of the car, he was good that way. 

  
“Thank you Tony,” he says sincerely, turning towards the older man, face full of genuine affection and it makes Tony feel almost shy. Showering people with gifts wasn’t new to him, but he often did it in a more superficial way, to earn their favor or get them to like him for his own purposes. With Peter, there was none of that, Tony genuinely wanted to make Peter happy, to show his affection and gratitude and see the expression on his face without getting anything out of it for himself. 

  
“You’re welcome, Happy Birthday,” Tony replies, giving him a quick smile before looking down at the gear shift, finding it hard to keep eye contact because it made him feel weirdly exposed, even though he’d basically already shown Peter every nook and cranny of himself, mentally and physically. 

  
Hands land on the side of his face, turning it and then Pete’s lips are on his, kissing him firmly yet chastely. It was solidifying, a connection that Tony desperately needed right now to ground him again and he pushes into it, never wanting it to end. 

  
But it has to, because if he wants to keep having these kisses and more, to spend his life with Peter, he’s got to find the son of a bitch who was trying to ruin their lives right now and end him. 

  
And so he regretfully pulls away from the kiss, though he gives Peter a few more pecks just because and their eyes meet again, an understanding passing between them before Peter turns the car off and they both step out, closing the doors. Tony circles the car and grabs Peter’s hand, putting the keys into it and it earns him another grin of excitement and it’s enough to give Tony the energy he needs to get back to work. 

  
They return to the lab just in time for the ping of success to come up on Tony’s search, an acknowledgement that a connection had been made and he suddenly had a very solid lead. 

  
“Finally,” he breathes out, sitting down in front of his computer, Peter hovering over his shoulder. “Who are you, you asshole?”


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short delay in posting chapters! I got behind which then put my Beta behind! Only a couple more chapters left!

“Who the fuck is Quentin Beck?” Peter asks him, staring at the picture of the guy from the Stark Industries website. He was fairly innocuous looking, though a bit weasel-like at the same time. But maybe that was just Tony’s perspective because he now hated the guy. 

  
Truthfully, he barely remembers him and had to look up what he had worked on to even get a vague memory of him. All Tony can picture is a quiet, meek guy with glasses. 

  
“He created B.A.R.F.,” Tony replies and Peter stares at him confused. “Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing, it was actually a pretty awesome creation, to be used to help clear traumatic memories using holographic illusions and hijacking the hippocampus in the brain.”

  
“Oh,” Peter replies, clearly still wrapping his head around that. 

  
“Yeah, it was a massively expensive way of just avoiding therapy truthfully and I didn’t really take it much further after I presented it once because I just couldn’t see the value in carrying on with it.”“I’m guessing he’s pissed about that,” Peter points out.

  
“Yup, that would be my guess as well,” Tony agrees. “He still worked for SI up until about two weeks ago apparently, when according to his file he was let go for violating staff conduct codes. I’ll have to ask Pepper what in hell that means, but that seems to be a bit of a catalyst.”

  
“Yeah, but he got the footage before you deleted it, he was already planning revenge back then, maybe he got caught hacking you and that’s why he got fired.”

  
“Maybe,” Tony agrees again, eyes reading through the guys employee file. He had managed to determine that the footage had been stolen prior to him deleting it, once he had unraveled all of the code and attempts by Beck to hide what he was up to in multiple IP addresses that had been duplicating and remaking themselves to keep even F.R.I.D.A.Y. from catching on to the breach. If Tony didn't now hate the guy so much, he would consider rehiring him, he was clearly really fucking smart. “The real question is, where is he right now?”

  
His file listed a last known address but Tony sensed he may be hiding out elsewhere. He had to know that Tony would find him, that he was going up against the best when it came to computer coding and technology and no amount of trickery would be a match for Tony, it just might delay him slightly. 

  
Hacking into the DMV and then Beck’s health insurance, Tony quickly finds the names and addresses of known family members. He then looks into any possible social media for the guy, trying to find friends or associates who might help hide him but nothing turns up. The guy seemed to be a loner, his mother was still alive, living at a retirement facility and his dad was long dead. He was an only child and had no other relatives living close enough for Tony to look into them just yet. Checking public and private real estate records, he finds the family home that Beck had grown up in had been sold a while back but curiously, the family had owned a small cottage on a lake not far from the compound. His suspicions are quickly confirmed by hacking the cell towers in the area and finding a match to the last IP that Beck had used on his phone. That gives him all the information he needs, all of the IP addresses coming from that location, the Internet provider, hell even the power company supplying that area. 

  
“Gotcha you bastard,” Tony says in triumph. 

  
“You’ve got him?” Fury asks from the door, Peter beside him, evidently he’d gone to get him while Tony had been digging around in all of Beck’s life. 

  
“Yeah, got a cottage about 45 miles from here, I can shut him down, but I don’t know for how long, the guy is good and might have contingencies in place,” Tony worries. He could tell that they would have to approach carefully, the guy would likely be monitoring his surroundings carefully and Tony didn’t want him to put out more footage because he got spooked.

  
“Ok, we send a team, stealth, you stay here and when they are close enough in place, you shut him down and they go in,” Fury decides. He sticks his head out the door and hollers down the hall to the war room. “People, get in here.”

  
Footsteps follow his order and the group shuffles into the room, Bruce still eyeing Tony like he’s an alien, as if there isn’t an actual alien down the hall sleeping in one of the guest rooms. 

  
“We found our guy, and have a location, we need to get in close enough before Tony cuts him off and then we take him down,” Fury instructs and something twinges at the back of Tony’s mind. 

  
It was way too easy to find Beck. Well for anyone else it would have been damn near impossible, but for Tony Stark, it was easy, and as he reconsiders each bit of data, each step taken he starts to realize that they look a hell of a lot like breadcrumbs. 

  
“No, I’m going in, it has to be me,” Tony speaks up, cutting Fury off as he is instructing Steve and Sam on the terrain around the cottage. 

  
“What? Tony, no,” Peter cuts in, hurrying over to Tony, face full of worry. 

  
“Look, this guy is a master of illusion, he is a technological genius, it was far too easy for me to find him, he did that intentionally because he knew I would be the only one who would. It has to be me, he’s expecting me, he probably already knows I found him, anyone else goes in and he will probably drop all the ammo he’s got, this was his plan,” Tony replies, trying to give Peter a reassuring look, but honestly he has no idea what he’s walking into himself at this point, he just knows he has to be the one walking in. 

  
“Tony, this is obviously a trap then, you can’t just walk in there without knowing what he’s gonna do,” Peter points out, leaning against the desk beside Tony, nicely crowded right up against him. 

  
“I’m aware of that Peter, but I don’t think he’s just gonna blow my head off when I walk in, he wants to make a point, that much is clear, so I need to go find out what that point is, figure out what his endgame is, it’s the only way to get ahead of him,” Tony replies, hand quickly squeezing Peter’s knee before he stands up, heading to his cabinet full of watches and other fun gadgets that doubled as weapons when needed. “I’ll at least arm myself this time, alright?” He asks Peter, who just frowns back at him. 

  
“I’m going with you, there is no way you are going in there alone,” Peter decides, storming across the room suddenly and opening the vault to one of his prototype suits and pulling it off the hanger. 

  
“Pete, no, I can’t risk something happening to you in there,” Tony starts, following him and trying to get the suit away from him, which is a fruitless effort. He’s aware that the entire team is watching this exchange, none of them saying a word but clearly inspecting every element of it. 

  
“And I can’t risk something happening to you, so I’m coming, no argument,” Peter declares, pushing out of the room to go change into the suit. “None of you let him leave without me,” he shouts over his shoulder and wordlessly the group spreads across the door, blocking his exit. 

  
“I see you are all on his side,” Tony points out sarcastically, heading back to the fun gadgets and selecting his newest repulser watch model and strapping it on as well as his old AI glasses. Then he thinks better of it and takes them off, popping the nano tech stun gun ring on instead. 

  
“Neither one of you is going alone,” Fury says evenly. “We are all going, we will set up from a vantage point and be ready for when you need us.”

  
“Beck will see you coming, we can’t risk it,” Tony points out, stuffing a few exploding coins into his pocket. They were kind of old school but still effective, especially against a guy like Beck if for no other reason than a good distraction. He eyes a few more goodies, but decides that Beck will be expecting him to use all kinds of fancy weapons on him, so he needed to be creative by not being creative. On that note, he opens another cabinet and grabs his Glock 19 and tucks it into the back of his pants, pulling his hoodie down to hide it. 

  
“That’s your plan Tony, just walk in with a gun and shoot the guy?” Natasha asks, looking worried herself. 

  
“He won’t expect me to bring a gun to a tech fight,” Tony points out, heading towards them and the door but they all hold firm, arms crossed over their chests like a line of statues. “Guys, seriously?”

  
“Yup, once Peter is ready, we will all head out, you aren’t going to be alone Stark, no matter what you say,” Fury says evenly, leather jacket creaking slightly as he stares Tony down with his one eye. 

  
“Hey, what’s going on? Hey Stark!” Thor thunders behind them, mouth full of a piece of apple that he’s quickly devouring as he grins at Tony. 

  
“Thor, get them out of my way for me, will ya?” Tony asks and Thor shrugs and actually moves to do just that when a web comes down the hall and pins his arm to the wall. 

  
“Don’t even think about it,” Peter declares, coming into view in the suit. “Tony, stop it, stop being an idiot, you know we’re right.”

  
“No, I know I’m right, do you really want to risk this guy doing more damage because you all wanted to go storming in there?” Tony replies angrily, quickly losing his patience. 

  
“We will hold back Tony, a safe distance…” Natasha starts.

  
“You are not listening to me, there is no fucking safe distance,” Tony shouts. 

  
“Tony is right about that,” Peter agrees and Tony rears back in surprise.

  
“Then why in hell are you coming?” Tony squawks out. 

  
“I’m offline idiot, this is a prototype suit but I can go complete dark mode in it remember? I have zero connection to anything so he won’t be able to see me coming,” Peter replies and Tony has vague memories of them programming such an option into the suit. “You drive up, he won’t see anyone else, he will likely let you in, I’ll come in on foot, from the trees actually so I can be right there.”

  
Tony stops and considers it. It was definitely better than everyone else trying to sneak in and maybe if Beck thought he was actually alone, he might be able to reason with him. He still hates the idea of Peter being involved though. 

  
“Tony, for fucks sake, I’ll be fine, I would think by now you’d know what I’m capable of,” Peter growls out, rolling his eyes before putting his mask on. “Let’s go.”

  
“He killed Thanos, you’ll be fine,” Thor decides. “How do I get my hand back though?”

  
“It’ll dissolve in about two hours,” Peter hollers down the hall as he carries on walking towards the elevator, Tony hurrying to catch up. He just barely hears Thor asking for someone to bring him a drink in the meantime before the door closes.

  
The ride down to the garage is quiet, though Tony can feel the fury rolling off of Peter in waves. He hasn’t seen him this angry since he found the camera, it was a rare sort of emotion for Peter, who was usually so even and reasonable.

  
“I’m sorry,” Tony says quietly as they walk to the car, Peter only grunting once in response, pointing at the Jeep before crawling under it, intending to just hang on to the undercarriage until Tony got close enough and then he’d drop off and disappear into the trees. Tony still had reservations, one being that there was a chance this guy had cameras set up around the perimeter and would see Peter come off the car or that he’d have some sort of motion detectors set up. But at this point, he knew it was a risk they had to take, because Peter was clearly set and Tony had to admit, Peter was right, he was more than capable of taking care of himself. 

  
He gets into the car and starts the engine, trying to be careful as he maneuvers it up the ramp, not wanting to inadvertently squish Peter but he sees nothing in the rear view as he heads down the driveway and turns onto the main road. 

  
He keeps the radio off and since he left his phone back at the compound, no one can contact him. He feels very alone despite the fact that there was in fact someone else with him, but Peter felt distant, his anger at Tony a barrier between them and he just hopes it doesn’t cloud Peter’s judgement when they get there. 

  
It takes three quarters of an hour for him to get close to the cottage but as he slows to turn onto the final road he feels the slightest movement of the car and knows Peter just jumped off, taking advantage of the decreased speed. He doesn’t see him in the rear-view mirror at all, he’s just gone in an instant and it makes the panic in Tony’s chest amplify. 

  
There are lights on in the windows when Tony pulls up, as he expected there to be and he just barely catches a figure moving past one of them as he gets out, fixing the position of the gun in his pants surreptitiously as he closes the door and starts walking towards the door. It opens before he even reaches it and Beck stands on the threshold, glaring at him in triumph and Tony gets the extreme urge to just go ahead and blow his head off now.

  
“I wouldn’t if I were you, I’ve got everything set up to be uploaded to every major news station in this country as well as the FBI if the sensor I inserted in my body senses my heart stopping,” he says evenly, smirking ever so slightly. He looks thinner than his company picture, more stubble on his cheeks and he's not wearing his glasses, nor does it look like he’s brushed his hair lately. 

  
“Fair enough,” Tony says evenly, sounding calmer than he feels. “Let’s talk, what do you want from me?”

  
“Come on in and I’ll tell you,” Beck replies, backing out of the way and letting Tony pass. It is a struggle but Tony fights the urge to look behind himself for any movement in the trees or on the ground. “You came alone, I’m actually surprised, I sort of thought you would set up a full team assault, since it’s your pride that’s wounded this time.”

  
Tony shrugs, still keeping up a calm facade.

  
“It’s just you, I think I can handle it,” he replies and one of Beck’s brows flickers. 

  
“I see that,” he says with a nod towards the watch on Tony’s wrist. “You might as well take that off now, as well as that gun in your pants, put them on the table,” he instructs and Tony’s heart pounds a little harder in his chest. He does as he’s told, fearing the consequences but he hates being unarmed, knows what can happen when he is and while he still has the coins and the ring, they were little help at this point. 

  
“Tony Stark, man, I can’t believe how far you’ve fallen, I used to admire you, you know,” Beck starts talking, picking up Tony’s gun and watch and carrying them over to a safe where he locks them up before turning his attention to a pot of tea on the counter, filling two mugs with the steaming drink. Tony takes the time while he’s distracted to look around at the place, map it out. It’s a single room cottage, with only one separate area that is clearly the bathroom. The walls and floor are all pine and it has a bit of a shabby chic feel to it. To his left is a small dining table, behind it a small kitchenette with a miniature fridge and hot plate as well as an electric kettle on the old gold Formica countertop. Ahead of him is an old gold floral couch against the wall, a brown rope rug on the floor with a dark wood coffee table and fireplace directly across from it, the fire roaring away, making the space warm and cozy. Along the back wall in one corner is an old brass bed with a handmade quilt on it, neatly made with one pillow at the top of the bed while in the other corner is a computer and tech set up that is entirely opposed to every other item in the room. Multiple screens are lit up and Tony notes that he was right, the guy does have security cameras but all of them are aimed towards the ground, the driveway and the road outside and a few that seem to be keeping watch around the rest of the cottage. On another screen several boxes full of data and websites sit, all appear to be on pause and Tony assumes that’s the base computer he would upload everything from. But this guy was too savvy to just have it on one computer, he would have backed it up, have it hidden in some cyberspace vault somewhere, that was the scary bit. “Tony? Did you hear me?” Beck’s voice cuts into his thoughts and he jumps slightly.

  
“What? I sort of drifted off when you started talking about yourself,” Tony says sarcastically and he sees Beck tense immediately. The guy clearly had some self-esteem issues that Tony could play on, but he had to be careful. 

  
“I asked you how in hell you go from being able to bed any woman you want to becoming a pervert who diddles kids?” Beck replies snidely and Tony fights the flinch that threatens on his face. 

  
“You know nothing about him, or me for that matter,” he replies, knowing it was weak.

  
“Au contraire, you see, I’ve been watching this video, weeks of footage you took of him, which is really creepy by the way, and I think I know you pretty well at this point, him too,” Beck replies triumphantly and Tony inwardly cringes, knowing what this guy had seen. 

  
“You do realize that makes you just as much of a pervert right?” Tony points out and Beck’s eyes flash. “Did you enjoy the show? I’m guessing you did. You probably got off on it you filthy pig.”

  
“I saw enough to know how to bring you down,” Beck snarls out. “To know how much damage I could do to you with just a few keystrokes.”

  
“What exactly is it you want? Why are you doing this?” Tony challenges him, getting tired of messing around. He needed to get to that computer, start digging but he couldn’t kill the guy so he needed to come up with a plan, and to do that he needed to know Beck’s main goal. 

  
“Want? Tony? How about recognition for the fact that I created something so incredible, astounding even, which you shut down with the flick of your hand for no reason whatsoever,” Beck yells, all remnants of his smirking calm facade quickly melting away to fury and Tony knows he’s hit a nerve.

  
“What? You mean B.A.R.F.?” He asks sarcastically and Beck’s eyes bulge slightly.

  
“DO NOT CALL IT THAT!”

  
“You named it, that’s the acronym, what did you expect?” Tony replies, moving to sit on the edge of the kitchen table, arms crossed over his chest.

  
“How about some respect Tony? What? Were you just jealous that you didn’t think of it first?” Beck demands, sounding petulant. 

  
“No, dear God no,” Tony sighs. “Look, you want the truth, it was a great idea, but at the end of the day it was just a really overpriced way to avoid therapy, it had no real practical application that we could market it for, it was business Quentin, plain and simple. But if you want me to say it, I’ll say it, it was a great idea, you did good work, but business is business.”

  
Beck’s face turns several different shades of red through Tony’s explanation and he starts stalking back and forth in front of the fire. 

  
“You didn’t even give it a chance, you basically made fun of it at that presentation and didn’t even credit me for it, how can you be such an incredible asshole?” He growls out, storming towards Tony, eyes bulging again. “You never recognize the people who do the real work in that place, you never have and yet you worship some kid who got bit by a spider?”

  
Tony closes his eyes slowly and takes a deep breath, because in some ways, Beck was right. For so long, Tony had seen himself as Stark Industries, without recognizing all of the others contributing, that was the cockiness he had talked to Steve about. At the same time, it didn’t exactly give Beck the right to destroy his life like this, or Peter’s for that matter. 

  
“Look, you aren’t wrong that I haven’t exactly been the best at giving credit where credit is due, I know that, it’s been a bit of a journey of self-discovery for me,” Tony replies, hands waving as he tries to find the right words. “But you are dragging Peter down with this, ruining his life when he’s actually done absolutely nothing to you, how is that fair?”

  
“I regretted having to involve Peter, but I’m afraid that casualties are a natural part of war,” Beck spits, walking away from him again. 

  
“It doesn’t have to be a war, we can figure this out you know, you and me,” Tony offers and Beck stops and turns around, eyes narrowing as he scans Tony’s face. Tony isn’t sure if he’s actually considering the offer or trying to think of ways to kill him at this point. 

  
He’s about to reiterate that he’s actually willing to make a deal when suddenly there is the tiniest noise, the sound of something passing through the air very rapidly and seconds later Beck collapses to the floor in a heap. 

  
Tony rushes over to him, terrified that he’s dead but he finds a tiny dart in the back of his shoulder, one he distinctly does remember installing in Peter’s suit. It wasn’t deadly but it was one hell of a good tranquilizer. Seconds later the door to a small attic in the ceiling opens and Peter drops down through it, landing softly on his feet and pulling his mask off. 

  
“Exactly how long were you planning on just chatting with him?” He asks Tony as he heads towards the computers, examining the camera views. 

  
“Um, until I came up with a plan?” Tony replies, phrasing it more like a question as his mind struggles to catch up with what had just happened. “What are you doing?”

  
“The rest of them will be here in a minute, I left a note,” Peter replies in a tone that insinuated that Tony was an idiot. 

  
“WAIT!” Tony shouts, hurrying over to the cameras. “There is no way he’s not got traps everywhere, he’s probably got one on the cameras themselves, a motion detector of some kind that will upload everything the minute it senses movement.”

  
Peter steps back, staring at Tony wide eyed as he quickly starts typing, pulling up the code and examining every thread before he spots it, confirmation of his suspicions. He manages to find the off switch but it requires fingerprint authorization.

  
“I need his fingers,” Tony says as he turns towards the prone form on the floor. “Help me drag him over,” he requests and Peter simply walks over and hauls Beck over one handed by himself, yanking the man’s arm up from the floor and basically offering it to Tony. “Um, thanks,” Tony replies, a laugh threatening to bubble up, but it stops with the severe look on Peter’s face. 

  
He grabs Beck’s hand and the two of them manage to use all of his fingers to get through all of the steps of the authentication and a minute later an authorization granted window comes up and Tony realizes he has access to everything now. He doesn’t waste time, hurrying over to the main computer where the upload was to originate from and he starts working his way through it, deleting all of the links and shutting down the commands and connections. 

  
By the time he finds the link to the sensor in Beck’s body, the rest of the team are piling into the cottage, all of them on edge and Beck is quickly cuffed up and hauled out to the van still unconscious. 

  
“Can you get it all? Stop everything he had planned?” Natasha asks beside him, watching his fingers as they hurry across the keyboard. 

  
“I think so, I mean, I need to check all of his aliases and storage, he could have copied and hidden everything all over the place,” Tony replies, eyes on the screen. 

  
“Well, let’s pack the stuff up and take it back to the lab,” she offers and he quickly shakes his head. 

  
“I don’t trust him, I don’t want to connect anything of his in the lab, I have no idea what kind of codes he’s hidden in here that could spread, I need to do it here,” he replies, reaching behind himself to pull up the chair before going back to work. 

  
“Ok, well, we are taking his ass back to the compound and locking him up, so here,” she says, putting his phone down next to him. “Call if you need anything and we will call if he says anything.”

  
“Ok,” Tony agrees vaguely, mind focused on the task at hand. He barely hears them all leaving, doesn’t even turn around to acknowledge them, but he knows they will understand, he hopes they will. All he knows is the lines of code in front of him, the image and video files and connections to places all over the world where Beck had tried to hide everything. 

  
He can feel Peter behind him without even looking, the sound of him plopping down on the couch and making the old springs squeak slightly. It makes him pause, fingers stopping and he glances up and realizes the sun is coming up. He’d been at this longer than he had realized and Peter had been back there silent all this time.

  
Whirling around in the chair, he finds the younger man leaning back against the couch with his eyes closed, exhaustion clear in the dark circles under his eyes. 

  
“Pete?” He asks, body itching to go to him, pull him into his arms, but he can still feel the way the younger man tenses just by Tony’s voice and he stays put. “Pete I’m sorry, I honestly was just trying to protect you,” he says lamely, and Peter’s eyes pop open, rolling quite impressively. 

  
“Uh huh, just like you were protecting me when you left me standing in the war room with all of them as you took off to the lab,” Peter replies in a deadpan voice and Tony’s shoulders drop down in shame. 

  
“I needed to get started working on finding this guy, to stop him before it got worse,” Tony replies and Peter shakes his head. 

  
“No you were running away, because that’s what you do, and I know that, so I shouldn’t be surprised but somehow you still manage to surprise me,” he sighs. “You know Tony, for as much as you tell me you love me, and as much as I think our relationship is solid, there are definitely times when I feel like I’m the only one defending it and that you are in fact ashamed of me, or of us, I’m not sure which, maybe both.”

  
That gets Tony moving and he’s off the chair in a flash, stumbling slightly as he discovers that his legs have fallen asleep, but he makes it to the couch and lands beside Peter, reaching for his hand. 

  
“I know, you’re right, I haven’t handled my role in this well, at all, but I’m not ashamed of you, or of us, I know you and me, I know what we are and there is nothing I believe in more, and I do love you, you know that,” Tony says fiercely and Peter turns his head just enough to look him in the eye. “I’m not good at explaining us to anyone else though, I don’t know how, because we both know what it looks like to them and I don’t know how to get them to see it from our perspective, I’ve tried, but clearly not enough and I’m sorry for abandoning you back there, that was absolute bullshit of me, but it won’t happen again.” 

  
Peter stares at him for a long time, waiting for Tony to waver or shift his eyes but he doesn’t and he finally nods once. 

  
“I know I’ll have to prove it, I’m ok with that,” Tony adds, fingers threading through Peter’s hair gently, the soft curls like silk in his palm. 

  
“Ok,” Peter decides, nodding again before leaning forward to kiss Tony quickly. “You should get back to work, how much more time do you think it will take?”

  
Tony sighs and rubs his face with his hands, shaking his head slightly.

  
“I don’t know, this guy is really fucking good, but I think I’m getting there,” he replies, groaning slightly as he pushes himself back up from the couch and slumping back over to the chair and sitting down. His own exhaustion is pressing at the back of his eyes and he really wishes he had some coffee. 

  
“Anything I can do to help?” Peter asks, walking up beside him, leaning his hip on the desk. 

  
“Not really, maybe call Nat and see if he’s woken up yet?” Tony suggests, startling when his phone suddenly rings. “Speak of the devil,” he quips as he sees the name on the screen and hits speakerphone. 

  
“Hey Nat, how are things? He said anything yet?” Tony asks, trying to refocus on the data in front of him. 

  
“Not much, but he’s really furious you figured out a way through his authentication system, so I think you might have done something he wasn’t expecting and maybe it means something?” She replies. 

  
“Hmm,” Tony hums. “It was a pretty fancy authentication system, clearly designed by him.”

  
“You close to being done?” She asks.

  
“I think so, I hope so, God I hope I don’t miss anything,” he breathes out. That was still his biggest fear, that Beck would have set some sort of booby trap somewhere, the guy was good at illusions after all. 

  
“I think you’re giving him too much credit and not enough to yourself,” Natasha replies. “Hurry up and get back here, Fury and Ross want to set up a news conference, give the media the pictures Peter made and a statement that the relationship thing was a hoax, Peter is gonna have to address the Spiderman thing, we’re working on a statement for him.”

  
“Ross is there?” Tony asks. 

  
“Yeah, was here when we got back, super glad you had those pictures made Peter because we used them to calm his ass down, but he wants to get it straightened out publicly as soon as possible,” she replies. 

  
“I’ll do my own statement,” Peter adds quietly and Tony can see he’s resigned himself to his new life of notoriety. 

  
“You do realize that with the fake pictures, we may be able to come up with a way of saying the other thing is a hoax too,” Tony points out. 

  
“Yeah, no, I mean, we could try, but I still feel that we have to be genuine on one level in order for them to believe the other is fake, because why would we lie about our relationship if I am telling the truth about being Spiderman, I may even have to prove it, which sucks, but it’s the best way and I mean, I guess I sort of knew I wouldn’t be able to stay anonymous forever, might as well just get on with it,” he reasons, eyes downcast and Tony reaches out to gently squeeze his thigh supportively. 

  
“Peter is right Tony, it gives plausible deniability if nothing else,” Natasha points out. 

  
“Alright, well, I’m gonna try to get this done as quickly as possible and we will head back,” Tony replies, resigned himself to his role in all of this. 


	34. Chapter 34

It takes Tony another couple of hours to feel mostly confident that he’s destroyed all of Beck’s records. Still, he takes some time using his phone to search the entire place for any hidden thumb drives or anything else. He manages to get the safe open, using a lock picking app he designed and he gets his watch and gun back, checking inside for any other hidden compartments and finds one, with a hard drive in it that he quickly wipes clean and then destroys with a few shots from the gun. Then he and Peter pack up and load all of the computers and everything into the Jeep, bringing it back to prevent anyone else from finding it. 

  
It’s almost 4 by the time they get back to the compound and already news vans are pulling up to the front door, reporters and cameramen spilling out and hurrying up the steps and in towards the conference room. 

  
Peter and Tony look at each other, both of them beyond exhausted and wearing it on their faces, but they know they have no choice. He parks quickly in the garage and they head up to the apartment where they find the rest of them all milling around in the war room and kitchen, dressed in suits and ready to stand in solidarity with them. 

  
“Stark, there you are, I promise you this bastard is heading straight to the raft and he’s going to be staying there for the foreseeable,” Ross declares, hurrying towards Tony and shaking his hand. “What an absolute asshole, exposing Peter and trying to make insinuations, good thing you found him and had the original pictures. Go get changed and ready, we will meet you out here in five.”

  
Tony glances at Peter and they both shake their heads slightly before heading to the living room and retrieving their bags and heading down the hall. Tony isn’t the slightest bit surprised when Peter follows him into his room, closing the door behind them and he hides a smile in the closet as he quickly picks out a black suit and white shirt, coming out and tossing them on the bed while heading to the bathroom to at least run water over his face and clean up his hair. He could really use a good shave and shower, but there isn’t time. 

  
He finds Peter in the bedroom, already changed into a nice shirt and trousers, stuffing his feet into a pair of his nicer running shoes. It’s a very Pete sort of outfit and it makes Tony smile again, earning him a confused expression from the younger man.

  
“What? I don’t have a suit with me,” Pete points out, looking down at his outfit and then back up at Tony. “I know, you’re fine, trust me, it’s very you, and you look good, that’s all,” Tony replies, giving him a quick kiss on his way by before pulling his dirty t-shirt and jeans off and shrugging the white shirt on. Arms go around his waist suddenly, pulling him back against a warm body and Tony can’t help how he melts into it, eyes closing. “We don’t have much time Peter,” he points out while sinking further, feeling like he could fall asleep like this as he sighs and pulls Peter’s arms around him more, tightening the hug and Peter laughs. 

  
“I know, but I just needed a minute to touch you, I’m good for now,” Peter replies, releasing his hold much to Tony’s chagrin, though he hears something he likes. 

  
“For now?” He asks, turning to smirk at the younger man as he slides his pants on, tucking his shirt in and grabbing his tie and quickly getting it in position. 

  
“Yes, for now,” Peter replies innocently, eyes twinkling just slightly and Tony laughs himself. 

  
“I’ll hold you to that,” Tony promises and Peter nods dramatically before laughing as he watches Tony fumbling as he tries to knot his tie, his exhaustion making it damn near impossible. 

  
“Here, let me help,” Peter offers, stepping forward and starting to move the silk material as it was meant to be. “May and I learned how to do this using YouTube for prom night,” he explains. 

  
“It’s a good skill,” Tony agrees, nodding. 

  
“Exactly,” Peter replies, hand under Tony’s chin, tilting his head up. “Ok, there, done,” he declares, stepping back when he’s finished and reaching for Tony’s jacket, helping him get it on his shoulders. 

  
“You ready for this?” Tony asks him just as they get to the door, a pair of expensive shoes completing Tony’s ensemble. 

  
“Yeah, as I’m gonna be,” Peter sighs, opening the door and leading them down the hall. The rest of the team looks up and nods at them, and they all head out the door and towards the conference room. 

  
Tony remembers setting up a conference once before to announce Spiderman’s addition to the Avengers and Peter turning him down. He was still with Pepper then, had turned it into a proposal at Happy’s urging. Now look at him. 

  
The noise behind the door is almost deafening when they get there and Ross turns around to address both Peter and Tony. 

  
“Listen, I’m going to start off, then Tony you can say this,” he explains, handing Tony a set of cards and Tony can’t help but laugh quietly. Last time someone had tried to make him use cue cards, he’d announced he was Iron Man. Not exactly to plan. “And Peter, I understand you are prepared to speak on your behalf?”

  
“Yes, I know what I’m going to say,” Peter agrees. 

  
“Well, I don’t recommend it personally, but I was overruled, still, here is something in case you change your mind,” Ross offers Peter some cards as well and he politely takes them, tucking them in his back pocket. “Ok, let’s get this done.”

  
He turns and two guards open the doors, admitting them all and the flashes from the cameras blind Tony almost immediately, and he finds himself almost groping his way to the stage. 

  
They stand in a line behind Ross who goes up to the podium first, clearing his throat and quieting the room. 

  
“Yesterday, a former employee of Stark Industries attempted to discredit this organization and two of its members in a revenge plot after he was fired for conduct unbecoming an employee,” Ross starts and the room hangs on his every word until he stops and then the questions start, shouting from around the room.

  
“Is it true?”

  
“Tony are you in a sexual relationship with Peter Parker?”

  
“Is there an arrest warrant out for Tony Stark for statutory rape?”

  
“Is Peter Parker really Spiderman?”

  
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Ross warns, holding his hands up to get them to shut up again. “The accusations of an inappropriate relationship between Tony Stark and Peter Parker are completely false and inflammatory and as you can see, the picture used as proof, is in fact a fraud, created from two separate images that were merged together. I will let Mr. Stark explain further as to how the image was created, Tony,” Ross steps back and invites Tony up to the podium. He hesitates for a moment, for the first time feeling a little apprehensive of the media attention but he quickly collects himself and puts the cards in front of himself, eyes scanning over them. They were pretty pat answers, basically explaining how Photoshop worked and Tony about rolls his eyes. 

  
“Good afternoon, as he said, the image used was actually created using two separate images that were then spliced together to give an illusion of something that doesn’t exist,” Tony explains, the pictures Peter created coming up on the screen behind him. “This former employee was actually very good at illusions, so it’s really no surprise that he was able to create something so believable looking…”

  
“The original image is you and Natasha Romanoff, care to make a comment on your relationship with her?” A plucky reporter pipes up from the front and Tony inwardly sighs. He knew this was coming. 

  
“There is no notable relationship, Natasha would agree with me on that, just one moment of an error in judgement after a few too many drinks at a New Year’s Eve party,” Tony replies sternly, having noted that particular explanation on his cards and deciding it was plausible enough. 

  
“What is your relationship with Peter Parker then?” Another reporter shouts out. 

  
“He started as an intern here and I began mentoring him,” Tony replies, choosing not to offer too much information. He senses movement behind him and Ross steps up beside him again. 

  
“We are not taking questions at this time, but perhaps it’s a good time for Peter himself to make a statement of clarification for you all,” Ross tells the crowd, gently nudging Tony back and he goes willingly, fighting the urge to reach out and squeeze Peter’s arm as he passes in support. 

  
“Um, hi, I’m um, Peter Parker,” he starts, voice shaking slightly and Tony’s heart goes out to him. Part of his desire for anonymity was that Peter wasn’t happy in the spotlight. “Um…” He starts again, going quiet for a moment, eyes scanning the room before he glances back at Tony and his expression changes, going from terrified to a smirk with a twinkle in his eye and he turns back to the microphone. “Truth is, I am Spiderman,” he declares, using almost the same words as Tony when he had stated he was Iron Man. Tony has to tilt his head down to hide his smile. 

  
The reaction in the room is much the same as when Tony had made his announcement as well, flashes going off like strobe lights and voices screaming questions as they all stand up from their chairs. Ross comes forward again, giving Peter a bit of a warning look before waving his hands to get everyone to calm down again. 

  
“Sorry, seemed easiest to just get that out of the way,” Peter says after they have finally all sat down again. “But the truth is I am Spiderman, and I was choosing to stay anonymous because I’m also a high school student, who is trying to have a normal life. I want to have a normal life and do what I can to help people at the same time. I want to finish high school, go to college, all the things people my age want to do but I know I also have a duty to do what I can to stop the bad things from happening, to protect people and I take it very seriously. I don’t think I’m asking too much to be left alone though, in my normal life. I’ll always be fighting in your corner, protecting everyone as best as I can, but I need everyone to respect me as well, please.”

  
The room is quiet when he finishes, the media clearly unsure of how to react because it’s pretty obvious they all wanted to get every salacious detail but to do so would now violate the respect he was asking for and considering he was the guy who had saved half the population on the planet, no one wanted to be that asshole. 

  
“How do we know you are telling the truth?” One reporter finally pipes up, frowning slightly. “I mean, how are we supposed to believe a 16-year-old kid is the one who killed Thanos?”

  
“Why would I lie? Why would I risk my life and those in it for a lie?” Peter replies. “I could prove it, but I don’t think I should have to. The guy who tried to ruin Mr. Stark’s life with that rumor had access to a lot of information, including my file, it’s how he found out and found that picture of me and my Aunt that he used to make the new image.”

  
The reporter frowns for a moment longer before nodding, seeming to buy it. 

  
“How did you become Spiderman?” Another reporter asks, leaning forward on her chair. 

  
“It was an accident,” Peter replies while Ross steps up and speaks over him.

  
“It’s classified and that is all we have time for today folks, thank you for coming and letting us clear up the misinformation released yesterday, I hope you will all be retracting your stories from yesterday,” he commands the audience and Natasha nudges Tony to head towards the door. 

  
Tony glances back to make sure Peter was coming with them but he sees the younger man standing behind Ross still, a soft smirk on his face before he claps his wrists together twice, activating the web shooters that Tony hadn’t even noticed he’d put on and seconds later he shoots a web up to the ceiling and sails across the heads of the reports towards the exit door, laughing as they all shriek in surprise. He lands nimbly on his feet and is out the door before any of them can pursue him. 

  
Ross watches and turns a bit red in anger but says nothing, just ushers the rest of them off the stage and back towards the apartment where Peter is already waiting for them, sitting next to May on the couch. 

  
“I had to prove it,” he says by way of explanation as they come in and Ross sighs loudly. He knows Peter’s right, but he still wasn’t thrilled with anything off script. 

  
“I need to get back to Washington, Rhodes, you’re with me, the rest of you, have a good night,” he declares, turning on his heel and Rhodey follows him with a nod and quick glance at Tony. 

  
There were a lot of conversations that Tony was going to have to have, but frankly he’s just not up to it right now. Or for the foreseeable if he’s honest. 

  
“Well, I don’t know about the rest of you but I’m famished, let’s get something to eat,” Thor declares, clapping his hands together and everyone nods in semi agreement. 

  
They order pizza, it was quick and easy and just satisfying enough before they all decide to go to bed early. All except Thor, who was well rested and decides to partake of some Netflix in the theatre room. He’d evidently discovered the streaming service not long ago and had developed an affinity for The Crown. 

  
Peter follows on Tony’s heels as they head down the hall and Tony notes that May seems to be staying in the room that used to be Peter’s. She glances their way once before going in the room and closing the door, not saying a word and Tony frowns. 

  
“I’m 17 Tony, she knows that and besides, we aren’t under her roof right now anyway,” Peter points out after he closes the door. 

  
“Yeah true,” Tony agrees, though he’s not sure he wants her feeling so awkward there either. 

  
“So, I believe there was a promise to carry on made earlier?” Peter reminds him, coming towards him and pushing his jacket off his shoulders, letting it drop to the floor and Tony forgets all about May down the hall or even the rest of the team being there. It had been so long since he’d been able to really touch Peter that he felt starved of it. 

  
“F.R.I.D.A.Y. lock the door,” he orders before grabbing Peter and tossing him towards the bed, earning him a shriek and a laugh that he quickly swallows with his own mouth. He makes short work of Peter’s clothes, tossing them haphazardly behind him as he kisses his way across every inch of exposed skin, Peter moaning softly and arching into his touch. 

  
He swallows his cock in one go, a louder moan filling the room as the younger man’s hips snap up. 

  
“Fuck Tony, fuck me, I want you to fuck me,” he demands, trying to speak softly but finding it hard while he was being sucked at the same time. 

  
Not wanting to deny Peter of what he really wanted, Tony pulls off his cock and crawls up the bed, reaching for the lube in the drawer while Peter rips his pants open, shoving them down as far as he can reach, snatching the lube from Tony and going to work slicking him up while Tony stands on all fours over him, stunned slightly by the quickness of his movements. 

  
When he’s satisfied that Tony is ready, Peter grabs his hips and pulls him down, lifting his own legs to wrap them around Tony’s waist as he urges him to push inside him. Tony complies almost immediately, delighting once again in how good it feels to enter Peter, that delicious tight heat holding him, caressing him and driving him wild all at once. He starts moving quickly, hips snapping in quick thrusts that make Peter cry out and Tony has to swallow them with his own mouth again. Until he’s moaning himself into Peter’s mouth as he spills inside of him, body tensing with the force of his orgasm and he feels Peter clench around him, the warm wetness of his release on Tony’s stomach. It’s the kind of feeling Tony will never get tired of and that he would never feel with anyone else and he knows it. 

  
He droops almost immediately as he comes down from it, eyes threatening to close even though he was still inside of Peter. The younger man goes just as boneless but starts nudging Tony after a few minutes and they stumble almost blindly into the bathroom and shower, Tony falling once as his pants trip him up and Peter starts laughing almost uncontrollably but they somehow manage to get cleaned up and back in bed under the covers. 

  
Tony’s phone beeps on the side table and he reaches over, worried there was more bad news when he sees a message from Nat.

_N: This place is not sound proofed, just so you both know, I never want to hear that again._

Peter snorts loudly and starts laughing as he reads it and Tony laughs himself a moment later. He’s not even embarrassed, in fact, he’s not sure he cares. 

  
“Maybe we should get our own place or something?” Peter offers with a laugh.

  
“Actually, about that…” Tony agrees.


	35. Chapter 35

_1 Year Later_

Peter gets into MIT, which is no surprise to anyone. Going back to high school had been tough for the first few weeks, what with everyone knowing his alter ego, but Ned had been a good support once again, keeping people from prying too much and they had actually been very accepting and supportive. Thankful really because of what he had done for them. Flash was beside himself, apparently he was Spiderman’s biggest fan and was horrified that he had been teasing Peter for so long once he knew Peter was in fact also his idol, it was a lot for him to process, but he became a good friend by the end of the year. 

  
Their house had been finished a few months ago, sitting on the edge of a lake on the compound property, so they were still technically living at the Avengers facility, but had their own space. Natasha was especially pleased with this. 

  
May had moved in with Happy not far from them and her relationship with Peter was getting stronger, back to normal. Though she was still a bit suspect of Tony and he figured she always would be. 

  
The rest of the team had mostly come to terms with their relationship. Thor was still supportive, and frankly confused as to why everyone else had an issue with it. The only one who remained vocally unhappy was Hawkeye, the rest seemed to either accept it or just kept their thoughts to themselves. Tony’s relationship with a lot of them was strained because of it, but he hoped time would fix things because he refused to give up Peter to make them happy.

  
“Happy Birthday baby,” Tony says as he carries a cupcake with a candle in it out to Peter where he sat on the porch. 

  
“Tony, you know I’m having a party tomorrow night right? You didn’t need to do this as well,” Peter says with a laugh, accepting the cupcake nonetheless.

  
“I know, but it’s just a cupcake and I wanted to do something that was just you and I,” Tony replies. “Now make a wish.” 

  
Peter side eyes him before smirking and closing his eyes for a moment and then opening them and blowing out the candle. 

  
“What did you wish for?” Tony asks him.

  
“If I tell you, it won’t come true,” Peter replies, pulling the candle out of the icing and putting it on the side of the plate before picking the cupcake up and taking a big bite, smearing blue frosting all over his nose. 

  
“Was it to get icing up your nose, because that just happened,” Tony deadpans and Peter snorts, almost spitting the cake at Tony. 

  
“No, it wasn’t that,” he says with his mouth full. 

  
“Mm, ok, well, let me just help you with that,” Tony replies, leaning forward to lick the icing off, making him laugh again and Tony kisses him, tasting the sweet frosting on his tongue. 

  
They’d made it over a year, the most unorthodox couple there was but Tony knew it was all worth it to finally find his happy ending. He just hopes he gets to keep it for the rest of his life, however long that would be. 

_Fin_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading and commenting and giving kudos!! I hope the ending isn't disappointing for you all!! I never intended to write a long Starker fic, but here we are LOL. Glad I did it though!  
> Thank you again!


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